Tales of Adventure
by GnomeBob
Summary: A boy trapped in a wheel chair comes home the first day of summer vacation to find out his parents have installed a virtual reality game called Royal Road in his room. Without any goals or desires other than the possibility of adventure he enters the capsule where his mind is sent to the fantasy world of Versailles. Based within the game world of the Legendary Moonlight Sculptor.
1. Vol1 Chapter1 The First Step

Chapter 1

The First Step.

The middle school auditorium was emptying at a slow rate.  
Do Hyup sat in a chair very different from those around him and patiently waited for the people to leave.

He thought a graduation ceremony for junior high students was pointless but he knew people often did silly things for funny reasons.

While waiting for the crowd's complete departure, he overheard a group of fellow students talking excitedly about something. "I can't believe the entire stock sold out! It just came out today, and there isn't a single one left to buy in the country, now I'll have to wait till next month to get my hands on that game."

Do Hyup was mildly impressed, a game that sells out the day it is released must be pretty decent. But his interest only lasted a moment.

There was a reason games barely registered for him. "The feelings aren't real," he whispered to himself. He had a mild case of what his friends called, 'prejudice,' against games. But it made perfect sense to Hyup.

While fighting in a game you're not fighting, you're holding a joystick, you're not in danger, you're sitting in your living room or at a computer.

Not that he couldn't experience things he hadn't done before, Do Hyup was an avid reader. He had the ability to fully engross himself inside a book. His favorite genre was High fantasy because he loved stories about impossible things that would never happen in real life. In books he placed himself in the story and felt what they felt, and experienced things as if they had happened to him.

Hyup felt this was something no game could emulate.

As the auditorium was just about empty, Hyup placed his hands to the sides of his wheelchair and felt the familiar rubber. He grasped the wheels and rolled himself forward, propelled by arm strength alone.

Three years earlier Do Hyup was walking home and a man fell asleep at the wheel and ran onto the sidewalk and right into Hyup. With the help of the best doctors money could buy, Hyup regained the use of his legs, but it would be another few years before they recovered enough to lift him again. After the accident his parents sold their 2 story home and bought a three bedroom, one bath, house near Do Hyup's school. They could afford better but that house was the closest one to school for sale and they wanted to make their son's life as easy as possible.

He had first been put in an electric wheelchair with a battery that could go for miles. But Hyup had considered the thing an eyesore, and now rolled in a simple, comfortable, arm powered classic. He chose to remain ignorant of why people often looked at him with pity, and stated whenever they mention how sorry they were for him, "What's wrong with it, I come with my own cup holder."

In that way he always tried to make the best of his situation. He developed a habit of often laughing or smiling at things he thought were amusing even if his friends thought otherwise. His parents had offered to have someone drop off and pick him up from school but he refused on the grounds he wanted as much independence as he could get.

Waiting at the door of the auditorium was Yoochun, Hyup's friend since before he could remember. Yoochun looked much taller than a fifteen year old kid should look, but he was no older than Do Hyup himself.

Yoochun smiled, "I was wondering how long I was going to have to wait. You know you could move around with your eyes closed and people would get out-of-the-way."

Hyup calmly replied, "It doesn't matter, it's not like I have a deadline to get home. Besides, making you stand there, waiting for me is one of last small joys of my life. You wouldn't take that away from me would you?"

Showing a sour face, Yoochun said, "Next time you make me wait I'll throw you off that chair, sit in it myself, and wait for you to get off the floor."

"Better men have tried and failed, but if you think you got what it takes, I'll take you on any day of the week."

At this point Yoochun could only start laughing.

"Hate to say it but I'm going to miss you over the summer."

To this he replied, "You not gonna have time to hang out?"

After a sigh and a glint of pity in his eyes he said, "My family is spending the summer at my Aunt's beach house."

Do Hyup understood the real implication of what he said. Last summer Do Hyup's family flew to England and spent their time seeing the sights. Yoochun was not only Do Hyup's best friend, but their families knew each other very well, and Yoochun was invited to tag along with them for the whole summer. The summer before that Yoochun's family spent in a condo near a large forest. Do Hyup was invited and had spent a lot of time on the well paved trail through the woods with a pair of binoculars in his lap.

Do Hyup knew that Yoochun wanted to invite him to the beach, but couldn't for obvious reasons. Even if the fact that he couldn't swim didn't bother him, Do Hyup recognized that his presence and condition would bring down the mood of the whole family, Yoochun excluded. Do Hyup couldn't do that to his friend's family.

After promising to call later, they separated and Hyup rolled out the school's gate toward his home.

As he wheeled closer to his house, he noticed a van he didn't recognize parked in his driveway with its back doors open. The van said Unicorn Inc in bold letters on its side.

At the door of his house, two men in matching blue jumpsuits that each said Unicorn Inc on the back were talking to Do Hyup's father.

As Hyup approached the ramp leading up to the door, his father thanked the two men. One of them shook his father's hand and parted with him, walking to the driver's side door while the other jumped into the back of the van and closed the door behind him.

As they begun to drive off, Hyup asked his father, "What was that all about?"

From behind a somewhat mischievous grin, his father replied, "I pre-ordered a game a few months back and they just came by to install it."

Do Hyup recalled the conversation he overheard earlier and thought his father probably got that popular game for himself.

There was a question in the back of his mind as to what kind of game requires two men to install, but he let the thought go. A single wandering thought is more than most games recieved from Do Hyup.

His house was arranged so that it was almost a straight line from the front door to his room's door, which he then noticed was open.

His room used to have three features, a bed that was level with his wheel chair, posters of birds and jet planes on the walls, with his favorite poster above his bed, and a respectable desk with a few rows of books on its shelves. In the corner to the left of door where there should've been nothing now contained a very large silver pod, two and a half feet high off ground.

It was longer than he was and looked looked like an elongated oval that had been cut into sections and assembled on site. The pod seemed to be hollow with a darkened glass case over the top with a handle in the middle of its side similar to the outside of a car door. In various places there were handle grips and bars which were likely added to make the pod accessible for handicapped people.

While looking at it a long series of sarcastic remarks flowed through his head and he had some difficulty choosing which to use. He finally relented to just asking the question.

"Who crashed an alien escape pod into my room?"

His father answered, "I told you we just installed a game," as if that was the obvious answer.

Do Hyup knew his father was aware of his dislike of video games, so this one must be different. Taking another look at it he asked, "Is it a flight simulator?"

This was the only type of game Do Hyup might consider worthwhile, even though it was a fake experience. Learning the skill to fly a jet had always been an ambition of his.

His father had been caught off guard and momentarily showed a dumbfounded expression. "No. It is a Fantasy based adventure game."

The possibility of something decent was now shattered to him He now looked at the capsule with the same expression one would look at a large pile of garbage someone else had placed into your room and bolted to the ground.

Taking a deep breath, he silenced the urge to scream at the top of his lungs and said in an even tone of voice, "You know how I feel about those kinds of games.

His father walked over to the capsule and pulled the latch, opening the darkened glass cover and revealing the inner workings.  
"Take a good look at it and tell me what you see, or rather, don't see."

Deciding to play along for now, he observed every inch of the pod intruding on his space. The bottom was padded in sections that look like they maximize the comfort of the person who would lay inside. The head rest was slightly elevated, with a strangely colored metal semi-circle facing up in the place where a neck would rest. The pod's interior widened after the neck to comfortably fit the shoulders and arms. It was then that Do Hyup noticed what wasn't there. The pod's interior completely padded, without any control interface in any section of it.

Do Hyup looked at his father and said, "Explain."

"This capsule puts your mind inside the game. You become your character, no controller. You see with your eyes, you move with your feet."

His voice lowered noticeably on the last two words and remained silent.

Do Hyup felt his father's eyes on him as he stared at the capsule. He raised his shoulders in surrender, "Ok, I'll give it a try."

His father smiled and left his room, leaving behind a small booklet on Hyup's bed. 'Intro to Royal Road'.


	2. Vol1 Chapter2 A Crane in the City

Chapter 2  
A Crane in the City

Hyup pulled himself into the capsule and closed the top.

The guide was clear on what was going to happen but it was still beyond him to imagine it actually happening. He placed his head down making sure his neck rested within the metal semi-circle and felt it hum to life.

A moment passed and his eyes blacked out like he imagined would happened if someone was knocked unconscious. Words appears in his field of vision along with a woman's voice.

Connect to Royal Road?Yes|No

He answered, "Yes."

-Welcome to the release of Royal Road Version 1.0  
If there are any problems or glitches, please report send a report and it shall be dealt with as soon as possible.

-Select the name of your Avatar  
The Name you select cannot be changed without deleting your account

Do Hyup took a while to think of a name after he learned of its requirement from the intro guide. Then he stared at his favorite poster on the wall above his bed and he knew what it had to be.

"Crane."

-Select your gender from male, female or neutral

The concept that there could be women in Royal Road who were actually men disturbed him slightly but he decided not to give it another thought.

"Male"

-Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine races that are currently available.

"Human"

-You may alter your appearance using the the index or use your original appearance.

This was a point Do Hyup had considered a long time. When people looked at him, they had pity in their eyes, when he looked at himself, he saw the same. It wasn't that he didn't have good features, but he wanted to escape the feelings that others had attached to them.

He brought up the menu for altering the appearance and glanced over the options. However didn't want to choose an appearance. A person doesn't choose how they appear when they're born and Do Hyup felt they shouldn't be have that right.

"Random, age fifteen."

The appearance came out as someone with shoulder length black hair and taller than average, but lacked any adult features making him look childish.

Hyup hesitated for a moment but confirmed the Avatar. The game aged the avatar at the same rate as the real world, so his avatar's age would always match his own.

-Your account has been created. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road.

-Select a city and Kingdom you want to start.

A map of the continent opened before him. It had the appearance of an old stained map with three colored areas highlighted in the center with five glowing dots dispersed between them. The continent's north, south and east edges were surrounded by blackened countries, signifying they were forbidden, dangerous lands, while the west edge lined a coast. The three colored areas were the Kingdom of Haven, Kallamore Kingdom, and Aidel Kingdom, and the five dots were his options for currently available starter cities.

According to the guide, new players would have access to more cities to start from in the future, but a user had to discover them first. This of course was no help to him as no new cities would be available for at least a week.

"Random."  
Crane didn't know anything about the cities so he he let chance decide for him.

-You have chosen the Fortress of Yarsan, Kallamore Kingdom

-Welcome to Royal Road

A bright flash washed over his eyes and when his vision returned, he was standing on the side of a cobble stone street busy with activity.

His first instinct was to take advantage of his regained movement and walked around, but restrained himself and sat down on the ground. His father had told him this game was different from any game he had played before, and Crane wanted to prove that to himself by doing something that you can't do in another game. Nothing. Do nothing and watch the world move around you. Watch everything move about, watch the birds fly over head, watch people living their lives, independent of his actions. If the actions of others did not require his own to progress, it meant he was free to do what he wanted. The biggest feature of the city he could see was the massive cliff of the plateau that extended further to the left and right than the city walls. The cliff must've been thousands of feet high, and would be visible anywhere in the city. He could not see it clearly but at the very top was a shining palace. Although the features were obscured he could see the light reflecting off the buildings from the sun.

An armored soldier walked up to Do Hyup and said, "Who're you? Haven't seen your face before."

Holding back a chuckle at the irony of the statement he answered, "I'm Hyu-, I mean, my name is Crane. I just logged in."

The soldier gave him the look one would give a shabby stray cat and said, "Huh? Oh I see, you're a foreigner, a freeman sent by Gaea the Holy Seer."

Crane recognized that statement from the guidebook as the backstory all users in Royal Road had for their origin so he nodded.

"Well alright then, move along, soon they'll be a mess of merchants coming through and they'll need the room."

Crane got up and walked to the wall. As promised, a caravan of what seemed to be over a hundred people came through the gates on foot, in wagons, and riding horses or in some cases oxen.

Crane followed the tail end of the group until they split into two groups, a larger one continuing straight through another gate into another section of the city and a smaller one going left to what appeared to be the shopping district. Crane chose to follow the smaller group.

As Crane entered the shopping district, a skinny man who looked older than he proably was yelled in Crane's direction, "Come here, come here, I have exactly what you are looking for."

Crane walked over to his store and recognized the type of wares for what they were. 'Tourist Shop.'

Crane feigned interest in some of the items, and Tanner, the owner tried to convince him of their usefulness. Crane did not want to be rude, nor tell him he was penniless, so he asked when Tanner's was next due to get new merchandise. Tanner said next month, and Crane asked him for some help with directions, so that he would always know where his shop was. Tanner smiled and went to his desk and pulled out a map of Yarsan, and circled a spot with an inkwell feather pen. Crane thanked him for the map and moved on.

The map showed that the city was a massive half circle divided up into four parts within a semicircle and built into the massive cliff that overlooked the city. The center of the semicircle was the military base, a small half circle built in the into the face of the cliff. The second section was a wide ring around the base called the Central ring. The public structures were located there. The wide ring around the Central ring was split into two halves, with the right half designated the Residential area and the left the Shopping district. The walls that surrounded the city ran around the circumference of the city and along the base of the cliff connecting to the military base.

The map showed a basic diagram of the city sections but little else. Crane decided the best thing to do was to explore the city and improve his map. He stopped at the visitor center near the tourist shop and got a feather pen to write with.

Crane walked along the length of the shopping district, marking each shop's unique specialty.

After marking each shop in the district, Crane turned around to walk to the residential district.

The housing district itself seemed to be divided into three general sections. Closest to the center line was the higher end houses, neatly lined up with gardens, trees, and a few parks spaced between them. After that seemed to be average quality houses, no yard or space between houses but the houses themselves were respectable enough. The last section was the slums. Tall apartment type buildings that attempted to cram as many people as possible into the smallest possible space.

Crane marked down the name of each street and moved onto the city's Central ring. Crane passed the wall that divided the second ring from the third and realized the walls were much thicker than he had first guessed, at least fifteen feet thick. The buildings in the Central ring numbered in the hundreds, each with their own purpose. Crane only marked the road names and prominent buildings. When Crane arrived at where the Central ring met the cliff face, he saw a fifty foot tall relief statue of a warrior carved into the cliff, with a stone door by it's side. Crane walked over a colorful tile courtyard and found a man who seemed to be a Priest and asked him who that was.

"You must be new to Kallamore Kingdom. That of course is Magni, son of Thor, and I am a Priest of the Church of Magni."

Crane wasn't aware there were actually religious orders within Versailles, and was caught off guard by the concept. He knew practically nothing about Versailles, and didn't want to fall behind.

"Where can I learn more about your church and this kingdom?"

"The library of course."

A shiver went up Crane's spine. He had not considered that this world would be in such detail as to include books and libraries.

Crane pulled out his map and showed it to the priest asking where it was.

The priest pointed to the west edge of the Central ring, opposite the center line of his own location, and said, "The entrance is here." Crane bid him a good day, and began to leave.

As Crane turned, the priest said, "Wait, if this is your first time visiting here, might I make a recommendation? Opposite the church of this courtyard is a large viewing deck, you see it there?" He pointed behind Crane at a wooden deck thirty or forty feet off the ground with a ramp leading up to it. "Before you leave you should take in a view from it." With that the priest turned around and walked off. Crane found the entrance to the ramp and walked up a flight of wooden stairs to the platform that overlooked the courtyard. When he reached the edge he let out a small gasp. The colored tiles that made up to courtyard were arranged to make a mural circle, two hundred feet in diameter. A warrior on a golden horse stood against a dark landscape, arm raised wielding a glowing hammer.

You have seen the Mural of MagniStrength +15  
Stamina +15  
For a day  
The effect does not stack with other works of art

Crane made a note to return to this point before his first engagement.

Crane made his way to the library, marking down buildings and streets along the way. When he found the library, his heart dropped to his stomach. It was a two story building nestled in the corner of the cliff and the outer wall, and was only marginally bigger than his house in the real world. He considered avoiding it altogether but he at least wanted to see what their limited selection contained. Crane entered the door, first noticing the lack of books on the first floor. To the left of the entrance was a wide counter with a young woman at the front. Behind the counter was a single bookshelf, with what appeared to be no more than fifteen books. The back of the library had a door that probably lead to a small back room and a guard standing next to it. To the right of him was a staircase leading to the second floor. Crane figured there were a few rare books in the back behind the guard, and the library's collection must be on the second floor. The space would be large enough to carry less than a dozen shelves but it was still worth a look. As Crane walked towards the stairs, the woman at the counter asked in a somewhat annoyed voice, "Do you have your library card?"

Crane stopped dead, and turned to face the woman at the counter.  
"I do not have one, may I please get one?"

The woman replied, "That'll be one silver."

Crane looked in his inventory to see that his starting money did not even add up to a single silver. He thought maybe he should just give up and find something else to do, but he was far too stubborn to do so or admit he was wrong.  
"I have no money, is there another way I can get a Library card?"

At this question the librarian closed her eyes and remained silent for a moment before speaking again.  
"Well, several people in the city have borrowed books beyond their return date, if you can find these people and retrieve the overdue books, I'll wave the fee for you."

The sound of a bell briefly appeared along with a message.

*Ding*

Over Due  
The Librarian has requested you to find the houses of several people who have over due books and retrieve them.  
Difficulty: E

Progress  
-The vampires of Morata Incomplete  
-Baking with Rye Bread Incomplete  
-The Prince and the Bard Incomplete  
-Four Heroes of Salim Incomplete  
-The City of Zinge Incomplete  
-Sticks and Bones Incomplete  
-Joke Book Incomplete  
-Organizing your Gnome Garden Incomplete  
-Sharing your sword Incomplete  
-Hiking Senbain Mountains Incomplete  
-Utilizing your shield Incomplete  
-Arguing with Bandits Incomplete

Quest Requirements:  
Less than one silver on person

Reward  
Library Card  
If all returned within 24 hours, you will an receive additional reward

It was Crane's first quest, and he had no reason to refuse. "I'll retrieve those books for you."

-Quest Accepted

The Librarian passed a piece of paper to Crane and said, "Here is the list of books and the addresses of the peoples who borrowed them, as for finding those addresses, you're on your own."

Crane looked through the address street names and took out his map.

Progress  
-The vampires of Morata Complete  
-Baking with Rye Bread Complete  
-The Prince and the Bard Complete  
-Four Heroes of Salim Incomplete  
-The City of Zinge Complete  
-Sticks and Bones Complete  
-Joke Book Complete  
-Organizing your Gnome Garden Complete  
-Sharing your sword Complete  
-Hiking Senbain Mountains Complete  
-Utilizing your shield Complete  
-Arguing with Bandits Complete

Crane was on the last book, the other people on the list mercifully had all been home and gave him the books they borrowed, but the last person had moved out, and forgot to leave a forwarding address. Crane had little choice but to knock on every door in the surrounding area, asking for any information anyone had on him. But to no avail, the people said they barely knew him, and couldn't tell Crane anything useful about him. On what must've been at least the twentieth door, Crane met a person who was the borrower's drinking buddy, who said that the man was a regular at a certain bar in the shopping district around that time. Not wanting to miss him and map in hand, Crane ran across the city, trying his best not to bump into anyone on the way. When he made it to the bar he asked the bartender if that person was around. The bartender pointed across the bar to a middle aged man chugging a glass of beer. He was a skinny older gentleman with sharp features, premature balding, a scar over his forehead and a sword at his waist. Crane walked over to him.

"Are you Kalt Owens?"  
The man looked down at Crane and said, "Who's asking kid?"  
"My name is Crane, and if you are Kalt Owens, I am going to need you to hand over the book, Four Heroes of Salim, so I may return it to the Library, it is long past overdue."

The man stared at him for a long moment, and burst into a roar of uncontrollable laughter.

Crane maintained a calm expression and waited for him to stop laughing. After three minutes his patience ran out and he yelled, "DO YOU HAVE THE BOOK OR NOT YOU DRUNKEN BASTARD?!"

The man's laughter died, and he stared at Crane for a long moment with cold, intense eyes. Crane suddenly felt that he should be apologizing or maybe begging for mercy, but he used every ounce of willpower he had to keep his panic at bay and remain calm.

"Yea kid, I'm Owens."  
The man's hard face soften just enough for Crane to know he was not going to kill him.

"I got that book up in my place. I'm done here and fixin to head back, follow me."

Owens put down his glass on the bar table and started walking.

Crane knew that he was in the presence of a dangerous man. In Royal Road, a person's level closely affected their strength, and a massive difference in level made for an unreachable gap between the two respective people. This NPC was likely at least a hundred levels over Crane, and killing Crane would take as much effort as swatting a fly. Crane considered all this as he followed Owens and a very real fear started to envelop him. What would he do if Owens decided to kill him, what could he do? He had no actual experience fighting and lacked even basic moving experience. He would be as helpless as a headless chicken on a butcher's table.

Owens came to a sudden halt during Crane's train of thought. Crane just barely managed to avoid walking into him.

As Owens turned to face him, Crane felt almost paralyzed by fear.

"We're here kid, welcome to my home. I'll just pop inside and get that book. You wait right here for me."

After the door closed Crane's legs gave out on him and he collapsed to the ground.

If a user kill someone he'd receive a murderer's mark. Anyone with a murderer's mark can be attacked on sight or ambushed by guards. However the intro guided did not state if the same was true for Non Player Characters, so the possibility did exist.

Crane picked himself up and stood straight, pretending he was just fine.

The door swung open so fast Crane may have soiled himself in surprise if it weren't for the fact that Avatars can't do that. As quickly as he was startled he regained his composure, hoping that Owens wouldn't notice.

Owens stretched out his arm and gave Crane the book.

Quest: Over Due Complete  
Return to the Library for your reward

Owens looked at Crane and said, "kid, I've got a gut feeling that we'll meet again."  
After Owens closed the door Crane walked away at a slightly faster than normal pace.

Crane finally handed the last book to the librarian. She placed the book onto the shelf behind her and said, "Thanks, here's a little something for your troubles."

You have leveled up  
You received a Library card  
You received 2 silver pieces

Crane had returned every book with a couple hours to spare and got some pocket change for his legwork. Crane thanked the Librarian and walked to the stairs next to the guard by the back door.

The Librarian asked, "Where are you going?"

Puzzled, Crane says, "The second floor."

"The second floor is where we keep library book check out history. You don't need a library card to look through it."

For the second time since regaining the ability to walk, Crane's legs gave out from beneath him and he slumped down onto the stairs. If there were no books upstairs, then the only books in the library, were the thirty some books in the shelf behind the librarian. Crane considered not getting back up. He didn't mind going through a lot of effort for nothing, and the quest was fun in it's own way. But looking at the shelf behind her gave him no real energy to move.

After a couple of minutes just sitting on the stairs, a small curiosity wandered through his head. 'What kind of book did Owens checkout?'

That small thought was just enough to get Crane onto his feet and back to the Librarian.

"I would like to read The Four Heroes of Salim"

The librarian responded, "Sorry, no can do."

Crane let out a long sigh and asked, "Why not?"

To this she said, "All the books behind me are books that were checked in today from the library, at the end of the day I need to catalog that they were returned and place them back in there shelves."

Crane's mind went blank for a second.  
"Umm, where exactly are this library's book shelves?"

"The books are behind Dravo, you need to show him your card for him to let you through, I thought you were heading for that door when you first came in, that's why I asked if you had a card."

"Isn't that a backroom?."

"No, it leads to the Library, the library is built into hollowed out caverns inside the platuea, this building is only the library entrance."

At that point Crane remembered what the Priest had said about the library's location, 'The entrance is here'.

Crane walked up to to the guard, Dravo, and showed his library card.

Dravo stepped to the side and opened the door.

Crane walked inside and stopped breathing.

Endless bookshelves as far back as the eye could see. The roof of the cavern, forty or fifty feet high, had large lanterns hanging evenly spaced from the ceiling, granting a warm light to every inch of the void. Crane walked till he found an empty table.

"Four weeks in the city, I think I'll manage."


	3. Vol1 Chapter3 Into the Past and Present

Chapter 3  
Into the past and present

From that point onward, Crane was in the library almost constantly. The Library of Yarsan had become a second home to him. Crane's table in the Library always seem to have at least a few stacks of book on it. But he was not just enjoying the stories of adventures, he was learning about the continent of Versailles. He read through history books of various long forgotten cities and nations, through autobiographies of famous adventures, and facts and info about the continent itself.

About seven hours after he had started his reading marathon a message appeared before him

Intelligence increased by 1 point. (+1 INT)

"What the.. Show Stats Window."

Using the voice command he learned about in the intro guide for the first time, a see-through window appeared in front of him showing all his current information.

Status WindowAvatar- Crane.Alignment- NeutralLevel 2Class- NoneTitle- NoneFame- NoneHealth- 350Mana- 130Stamina- 10+15Strength- 10+15Agility- 10Luck- 0Wisdom- 10Intellect- 11Attack- 5Defense- 01 new message

Crane was a human who should have most base stats at 10. The effect of the Mural of Agni would still be active for a few hours more, increasing his Stamina and STR, which in turn increased his stamina bar and attack power. But his INT stat was at 11 without a +1 indicator, meaning that it increased permanently, along with his mana.

Up to this point Crane had been reading slowly, enjoying the experience as if he were reading at the desk in his room, but now the possibility existed that the act of reading books could strengthen his character.

This bolstered Crane's resolve to read as much as he could, a and learn everything the library had to offer him.

Looking back at his stat window he noticed the bottom line.

"Read message"

You have leveled up for the first time. You gain 5 points to distribute to your stats for each level up.

Crane had completely forgotten that completing the quest had given him a level.

But before distributing points, he had to know what kind of character he wanted to make.

In the Central ring of the city there were many guilds: Warrior Guild. Magician Guild, Thieves Guild, Archer Guild, Fist Guild, Adventurer Guild, Tailor Guild, Sculptor Guild, Merchant Guild, and Intelligence Guild. Crane could go to any one of these and acquire a profession, or go to the Intelligence guild where they would choose a suitable class for him.

But since he was not going into combat any time soon, he decided there was no harm in waiting. He did not want to regret choosing the wrong build, so he decided he would wait until he had chosen a class before distributing the stats.

To help him choose, he started to read a variety of different adventurer's books. Books about thieves, about swordsman, about magicians and knights, and about priests and archers. He made mental notes about each one's playing style and the preferred tactics of the adventurers who used them, as well as comparing each one.

The table he used now had three pillars of books, adventurer's stories, history books, and reference books.

When the characters in the stories he read spoke of an historical act or battle, Crane set his bookmark, closed the book, and looked through the pile of historical texts for the exact details. In some cases the details were spread in different sections of several books and in other cases none of the books had a mention of it so Crane would look for another book among the shelves and bring it back to his table. It was due to this that the stack of history books got very high.

The third pile contained books that detailed specific items that were often referenced but whose details were not found in either the story or history books.

In this way Crane devoured thousands of pages of literacy in only a few days. Once in awhile Crane would get a message that either his INT or WIS stat had increased by +1, but he did not pay much attention to them as they were only a perk of reading and not the goal.

The only breaks he made were when he ran out of water and had to walk to a small fountain near in the Central ring. A new account comes with ten pieces of rye bread and a metal flask. Crane only stopped reading to eat when his stomach started to scream at him or his thirst reached a dangerous level. When he ran out of water to drink he would fill it at a nearby fountain. He had run out of his initial supply of bread after a few days but was able to buy more with the silver he received from the library quest.

Two in game weeks after Crane first came to the library, a young man with a bowl shaped hair-do and moderately elegant clothing pulled up a chair in Crane's table and sat next to him.

No matter how deeply engrossed in a book you are, when someone invades your personal space, you notice. Crane put the book he was reading down, and asked, "Is there something I can do you you?"

"I hope so. I have come to this library three times this week to try and find information relating to my family's past. And each time I came, I noticed you had a large stack of historical texts. I have matters that need attending at this time and would like to ask if you would be interested in finding and summarizing the role my family played in the history of this city. I will of course reward you for your time, as well as for anything pertinent you find."

*Ding*

Searching the Past  
A man has requested you search the library for details relating to his family's role in the history of Yarsan  
Difficulty level: E  
Quest Requirements:  
None  
Reward  
Dependent on the quantity of information and the quality of details.

Crane had become acquainted with much of the continent's background so far, but none of the books he had read contained any reference to the city he was in. He figured there was more to the quest than meets the eyes, but the quest itself did not seem life threatening.

"Of course I shall accepted a gentleman's request."

You have accepted the quest

"Thank You. The name to search for is Roricas. If I return in three days, will you have the summery complete?"

"Yes sir, I will see you in three days."

As the man began to walk away, Crane said, "I did not get your first name."

"Torres, my name is Torres." The man left quietly, disappearing into the maze of shelves.

Crane felt there was something wrong with what he said, or he was leaving something out, but he also felt that made the quest that much more interesting.

Crane made his way to the entrance to get a lead on the quest from the librarian.

"Where can I find the history of Yarsan?"

The librarian seemed to be debating on whether or not to tell him, when she asked, "Why are you interested?"

"I have not found any details in any of the books I've read so far, I want to know more about the history of this city."

Although he left out some key details, it wasn't a lie.

"Very well, the twelve volume history of Yarsan is kept in the restricted section but is available for limited check out, fill out this form and sign here."

Crane had to sign a liability waiver stating that he understood that the failure to return a book from the restricted section or an attempt to leave the library with the book would result in criminal charges.

The librarian said the books would be brought to his table shortly.

The twelve Volume History of Yarsan was divided between two stacks at least three feet high on his table.

Now the real challenge of the quest was revealed, anyone else would require over a week to read and summarize these books. The only thing your average person could really do in three days was skim through all twelve volumes only reading paragraphs around the name 'Roricas.' But Crane was no ordinary reader.

History of Yarsan

The city was founded 1000 years ago by the great sorcerer, Boafu, as a southern outpost turned city for the Kingdom of Kallamore. The area was densely populated by groups of monsters who were repelled time and again from the city by Boafu's magic and later his descendants. A hundred years after its founding, Boafu's heir was declared the ruler of Yarsan, and his descendants the Royal family.

The powerful magic Boafu left to his decendents protected the city in the place of the army, but after four centuries, a race of people emerged from the mountain who had a high resistance to magic. Boafu's descendants were no longer enough to protect the city, so the military was reinstated to combat the mountain race.

The Yarsan army fought against the invading race for dacades, becoming stronger after each battle and gaining new members from Kallamore's capital city. After one hundred years, the military adviser of the time, Joul Rotan, lead a coup d'etat with the King of Kallamore's approval, putting the military's strength against the royal family's magic. Rotan expected the high magicians to put up a fight and be ground to dust by the vast number of trained soldier and mercenaries under his command, but the royal family had a ace up their sleeve that extended the war far beyond his expectations. The magic the royal family inherited from Baofu allowed them to created enhanced weapons and spell casting artifacts that could be used by anyone. They armed their loyalists with an endless supply of these weapons and fought Joul Rotan's army to a stalemate. Twenty years of endless battles later, when the end of the war seemed nowhere in sight, the leader of the loyalist surrendered. This was because a loyalist named Ruffio Roricas, decided he must put a stop to the war and poisoned the royal family. The enchanted items lost their power after their creator's deaths and the war was ended. Former military adviser Joul Rotan became the ruler, and gave each military commander under him the rank of nobility, as well as Ruffio Roricas. After the war, there were several great changes to Yarsan. The defense of the city was left to the military who built three great walls around the city, changing it from a city to a fortress. Each member of nobility was required by law to serve a term as a soldier of Yarsan. A royal palace was built for the newly appointed royal family and nobility at the top of the plateau's cliff. And spell casting items that could be used by non-magicians were outlawed.

-

On the third day, Torres found Crane in the same spot as when he gave him the quest.

"How did it go?"

Crane pulled a folder from underneath the stack of books that buried it and handed it to Torres.

"It seems your ancestor was solely responsible for ending the twenty year war that lead to the current government taking power."

*Ding*

Quest Complete: Searching the Past  
Your thorough research has uncovered Ruffio Roricas's key role in the history of the Fortress of Yarsan.

You have received 5 silvers  
Bonus- 'Treasures through the ages'

"Thank you for your hard work, along with your pay, I would like you to have this book. I saw you reading over a stack of item reference books, and this book contains details of some of the rarest items and treasures discovered in the Kingdom of Kallamore."

"Your kindness is appreciated, may we meet again," said Crane.  
At his last comment Crane thought he saw something in Torres's eye, and it gave him the impression that Torres was not the type of person one chooses to meet willing.

Torres thanked Crane again and left. Crane turned back to the table and began reading the book Torres had given him. Up to this point, Crane must've read almost a hundred books about items and unique artifacts. This book included information and details on powerful and ancient objects, items whose possessors changed the course of history. After finishing the last page, a message popped up.

You have learned new skill: Identify

"Hmm, Skill Window"

Identification [1] 0%  
Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.  
Mana cost: 30

According to the books he read, Identify was a general skill that was granted to thieves, wizards, adventurers, some craft classes, or taught. He realized that just like the stat points which he had been slowly gaining through reading, there were methods of gaining stats and skills other than classes or leveling up. The concept intrigued him, but if the activity to acquire the skill didn't interest, he wouldn't bother with it.

-

Only stopping to fill his flask with water when he was thirsty or buy cheap food with the the money he received when he was hungry, Crane continued to read book after book until he heard a ringing noise.

*Ding*

You have a new message

"Read Message."

It has been four weeks since you first logged in. You are now free to leave the city.

Crane had completely lost track of time, he had been reading for almost a month, but at that thought Crane remembered something. Tanner said that by this time he would have new stock. The map he gave him had been made into something highly useful, but Tanner only gave it to him because he expected him to return.

At first Crane had no intention of going, but then he came up with a useful idea.

-

"Come one, come all, you need not wander through these streets, all your needs can be found right here!"

Crane could only smile as he walked up to Tanner's shop. Tanner looked at him for a moment and yelled.

"Ah Ha, you have returned to see my new and wondrous wares!"

Crane replied, "Of course I have, and the map you gave me lead me right to you. I have come to look at each and everyone of your wares."

"Oh course, of course, I can tell you all you want to know about each item!"

Crane walked over to a small knife that had a green handle and a clear, sweet smelling substance over the blade and asked what it was.

"That my friend is the Knife of Midnight Poison! If you cut someone with it at precisely noon, the following midnight that person will promptly die! For you, I shall sell it for 30 gold pieces! However, I do not accept returns."

"May I see it?"

Tanner looked for the sun, as if to make sure it wasn't noon and after seeing it was around 3pm, handed the knife to Crane.

An item's stats cannot be seen without having it in your inventory, so customers must take the seller's word that it is good. Unless of course the buyer has a certain skill.

Crane whispered as quietly as he could, "Identify."

A window seen only by him popped up.

Green handled Knife  
Durability 14/20  
Damage 1~3  
This poorly made knife's handle was painted green, and it's blade coated in dried syrup.  
Requirements:  
None

Crane had a bit of difficulty keeping himself from bursting out laughing. As he had expected the object was worthless and Tanner was a con-man. If someone bought and complained Tanner would likely assure the customer either that it would work later or that Tanner had no idea it was fake. Crane put the knife back where he found it without saying a word and moved on to the next item.

Tanner told a story about each item, about how it was, one of a kind, unique, priceless, and contained an ability which only activated under certain circumstances. And Crane kept silently whispering 'Identify' on each one.

Skills in Royal road increased with use, Sword Mastery increased when using a sword, Identification increased with identifying.

Crane had some extra mana from the bonus INT and WIS gained through reading, but couldn't use Identify forever, he had enough mana remaining for three more times and decided to use them on something good.

"Your store has such amazing objects, but these just aren't what I'm looking for."

Tanner bit his lip and looked down for a moment, then he rushed over to his table and disappeared under it. When he stood up, he was holding a hand axe. This item was definitely different from the others in his shop. It handle was made of a darker wood and its blade had a markings engrave onto it.

"This is my most valuable item, the Forgotten Axe, made by beasts in the heart of the forbidden lands, This axe only shows it true power when it's user is in mortal peril. For this axe, I can accept no less than two hundred gold pieces."

Tanner once again handed the item to Crane. He looked down at it so Tanner couldn't see his lips move. "Identify."

Warrior's Axe  
Durability:27/30  
Damage: 13~17  
This axe was not made for human hands, but can still be used easily with a single hand.  
Options:  
This axe's properties change when wielded in the mountains.  
Requirements:  
Level 15  
STR 60

Skill Level Up: Identify [2]  
You can now learn perceive greater details

Crane handed the axe back to tanner without saying a word.

This axe probably was the most valuable item in the shop, but Crane had seen enough items in his books to know it's value to be from fifty to seventy gold, depending on the axe's stat changes around mountains and one's haggling skills. The axe of course was useless to him at any price. Crane was however grateful that the axe and other objects had helped him raise his identification skill a level.

A small flash blinded him for just a moment. A golf ball sized faceted glass sphere that hung on a string from the roof had reflected the sun's light. Crane eyed for a while, and decided he had nothing to lose. "Identify"

Failed to identify item

Crane let out a small cough at this unexpected message, acquiring Tanner's attention.

Crane didn't want to let on what had just happened and made up a story of his own to tell him, "It would be a waste if my trip here bore no fruit, please tell me how my this ornament is so I may leave with a souvenir."

Tanner took in a breath and held it, for a moment Crane worried he might start another tall tale, but perhaps he was tired of telling stories or maybe because he had simply run out, he let out the breath and said it was 15 copper pieces. Crane handed him the money without even haggling, thanked him and put it in his inventory.

From his inventory he looked at the glass's info

-Glass piece  
Durability 1/1  
The purpose of this object is unknown

Crane took it out again, "Identify"

Failed to identify item

Crane held the piece up to the sun and smiled, he didn't know if this object held any secrets but he looked forward to the possibilities.

From Tanner's shop Crane went to the city's gate. Although the shopping district was filled with other item he could Identify, most legitimate stores had the item's stats displayed next to it so they did not need Identifying. Crane was out of mana anyways and was feeling cramped inside the walls of the city.

He had only beginner equipment on but he wanted to see what was beyond those walls. The gate doors were open and the guards paid no attention to him. Passing through them, Crane saw a vast, grasslands that expanded in all directions. Directly before him were plains of dried grass, gravel coated roads, and many small trees that were no bigger than he was. Far off to the north of the city in the distance Crane could see a forest. After walking for a few minutes he saw a pair of people fighting together. He went to take a closer look and saw that they were fighting Jack Rabbits. Neither of them looked very confident in their fighting abilities, and Crane was under the impression they were users who, like him, started on the first day and were just released. They both appeared to be woman, both older than him, and both had weapons on hand, one a sword and the other a mace. Crane walked to a tree that was near them and sat down, leaning his back against it. They didn't seem to notice him yet. They fought rather clumsily, completely unaware of how to use there weapons properly and would exhaust themselves from useless motions. The mace user extended her heavy ended weapon too much while swinging and tired her arms out quickly. The sword user made exaggerated motions while swinging giving the rabbits ample warning where and when the strike was coming.

Crane watched the girls and the rabbits closely. After about forty minutes, the girls began to noticeably improve. Trial and error taught them to keep their movements tight and compact to avoid tiring out. After their form started to look some what proper, they started to hit the rabbit more often than miss. It was not trial and error but experience seeing the rabbits move for a while that taught them how the rabbits would move when they attacked and they started to adjust each strike to intercept the rabbit when it dodged.

Like him they both appeared to have no actual combat experience, but they showed it was possible to learn through experience. At this point Crane should have been in a mood to choose a class finally, but watching the women fight had the opposite effect. He decided he had not prepared enough to try his hand outside the walls, stood up and headed back to the library in search of more good information on Versailles.

Three more weeks had passed. Crane had read hundreds of books, and was no closer to deciding on what class he wanted to be. He was too stubborn to go to the Intelligence guild to have one picked out for him, but he seemed to have no other option.

He thought about what he might be best at and said, "Stat Window."

Status WindowAvatar- Crane.Alignment- NeutralLevel 2Class- NoneTitle- NoneFame- NoneHealth- 100Mana- 550Stamina- 10Strength- 10+Agility- 10Luck- 0+10Wisdom- 50Intellect- 50Attack- 2Defense- 0Unused stat points- 5

It had been a few days since the last time he got a bonus stat for reading, it seemed to top out at plus forty apiece. Mana is affected mostly by Int, but also a bit by wisdom and wisdom itself also increased mana recovery rate. If he became a spell caster like a priest or magician, he would have a huge advantage over those of the same level. But the library did not have a section that contained skill books or spell books so he had not gain any skills other than identify.

The problem was that Crane did not know what he wanted. "What do I want? I want to be strong. How do I become strong?" An image of a balding man with a scar on his forehead popped up. Kalt Owens, the strongest person he had met in the game so far. He would probably know how to become strong. But to Crane, asking him for help was no different from going to the intelligence guild. "Maybe I can ask him for a hint, does he know a book that can..." The idea hit Crane hard enough to make him stand up from his chair. Crane walked over to the librarian and told her the same thing he said the first day they met. "I would like to read The Four Heroes of Salim."

The Librarian stared at him for a moment, then took out a yellow square of paper and wrote the book's location among the shelves on it and handed the paper to Crane.

The book was about four adventurers who worked together to defeat a wicked monster at the end of a dungeon, each hero had a different class; knight, wizard, ranger, and assassin. Throughout the book each classes strengths and weaknesses were prominently displayed as well as how they fitted into the group. After finishing the book, Crane realized how he could pick a class. Each hero played a specific role in the party, and he should pick the class whose role appealed to him the most. He left the library for what may have been the last time, and walked up to the counter of a building in the Central ring.

"I would like to become a powerful warrior."


	4. Vol1 Chapter4 The Way of the Sword

Chapter 4

The Way of the Sword

Crane had decided he wanted to experience dangerous battles on the frontlines of combat and put his strength against another until one fell. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to be a knight, barbarian, or some other sword user yet so he wanted to start small and become a swordsman for now. He stood at the counter of the Warrior's guild and waited for a response.

The man behind the counter said with enthusiasm, "So you want to be a warrior eh?" Then he got a good look at Crane. "What is this?! You look like you've never held a sword in your whole life yet you think you can just waltz in here and become a swordsman? Get out. Come back in a few years when you've got some hair on your chest!" Crane had expected this response but knew how to deal with it. He knew you can't get something for nothing and asking an NPC for a profession without having the prerequisites for it was likely to get you laughed out of town.

Crane closed his eyes and bowed his head before the man and said, "Sir, my whole life I have looked up to swordmasters and knights as the greatest masters of combat, I have been waiting my entire life for this moment. Please give me a chance." Crane could not see the man's face but he knew it would be priceless, he had stolen that line from a book in preparation for this and had little doubt it would work.

Crane looked up with a solemn expression at the man's face. The man said, "I may have misjudged you. Wait here."

The man got up from his chair and went into a room in the back of the guild. After about five minutes he returned to the counter and said, "Do you really intend to become a powerful warrior?"

"Yes sir."

"Hmm, I can't in good conscious let someone who's never held a sword in his life become a warrior, what if I could offer you training?"

Crane tilted his head, "Sir?"

The man answered, "If you want, I can give you a quest that will reward you with the warrior profession. Or, if you're willing to go the extra distance, I can give you a letter of recommendation to deliver to an upper tier swordsman instructor, you can train and become imeasurably stronger than you would otherwise. Are you prepared to do what it takes to become the greatest swordmaster you can be?

Crane had steeled his resolve and answered without pause. "Yes sir."

"Alright then. This here is a letter of recommendation. Take it to Captain Elestas. She resides in the base and will tell you how to become stronger." He handed the envelope and a military pass to Crane who bowed to him in thanks and left the building.

It had worked out better than Crane had hoped for. Crane headed for the entrance to Yarsan's military base. Unlike most of the city's gates the gate to the military base was usually shut to discourage tourism. Yarsan as a member of the Kallamore Kingdom had a royal army under the command of the King, although only in Yarsan were nobles required to serve a term, in the entire Kingdom only Nobles and natives were allowed to join the Royal Kallamore Army. But Crane was obviously neither a nobleman or a native so he wanted to find the Captain, learn from her how to become strong and leave as soon as possible. Crane walked up to the soldier at the gate and showed him the military pass.

"What's a scrawny forigner like you doing here?"

Crane said he had a message for Captain Elestas and the soldier started laughing. Crane thought he wasn't going to let him in, but he opened the gate and gave Crane a wicked smile and said, "The Captain will be out in the east yard about this time."

As Crane walked through the open courtyard he observed various the people inside. At first he just assumed that the guard called him scrawny as an insult, but when he realized that the average frame of a Kallamore soldier was twice his own, he realized it was a fact to him.

Crane arrived at a vast open area twice the size of a football field with groups of twenty or more men spaced periodically over it who seemed to be practicing combat drills. Crane walked up to a soldier and asked where Captain Elestas would be. The soldier pointed to a figure standing on a raised wooden deck overlooking the groups.

Crane walked nervously up the deck stairs. When he got closer he saw a woman, late thirties with excessively sharp feature and short hair wearing shining steel armor. She noticed him approach and he noticed her hand move to the hilt of the sword on her waist.

He stopped in his tracks and said. "My name is Crane, and I have a letter for you." He held and the letter and waited.

Captain Elestas started at him, scanning every feature before walking over to him and taking the letter, keeping her opposite hand on her sword. She opened the envelope and read it slowly. After standing there for a few minutes, Elestas addressed him. "So you would like to walk down the path of the sword, but have no experience whatsoever?"

"That is correct."

"Are you willing to do whatever task is asked of you?"

Crane knew that she was implying hardships he could not yet imagine. He had read of the adventures of many people, but those books did not include the training that those people put themselves through to attain their strength and skills.

"Yes."

Crane was ready to take on any quest no matter how difficult. He would not back down.

"Very well, consider yourself drafted."

*Ding*

You have have joined the Royal army of Kallamore.  
You are now apart of the Kallamore 717th Infantry  
You are entitled to receive basic training  
You will receive a monthly income of four silvers

The blood seemed to drain out of Crane's face as he registered what the Captain had just said and the message that had appeared. At no point had anyone said anything about joining the army. Crane simply could not register what had happened. Usually for something like this, the officer first offered a job, a screen came up, and the user choose to accept or reject the offer. But somehow that entire process had just been skipped.

"Excuse me mam but-"

Quicker than he could see, Elestas's sword left it's sheathe and stopped at Crane's face.

"From now on you will refer to me as Captain Elestas, do you understand?"

Swallowing hard, Crane nervously answered, "Yes Captain Elestas."

She removed her sword and said, "Did you have a question?"

"Yes Captain Elestas. Why was I not given a choice of denying your offer?"

She held up the letter and said, "Because he knew you would. The is a letter recommending I draft you into the army, insure you receive standard training, and if you last through the training, provide you with a Warrior class that will lead you to an upper tier warrior class. All that is needed for me to draft someone is their willingness to follow orders, which you have confirmed."

He had been tricked. Elestas had gotten him to accept becoming a soldier without knowing it himself.

She smiled at Crane the way a spoiled child smiled when given a brand new toy and said, "Your training begins now. Follow me."

She walked off the deck followed by Crane and lead him to the nearest group of soldiers. When she approached they stood up straight and faced her, perfectly still.

Elestas called out for one of the men to come forward and said. "This recruit just joined your unit. It'll be your responsibility to make sure his is up to par." Crane stood up straight and waited for the Captain to leave.

The man he had been entrusted to looked only a few years older than himself. But he held himself with composure and stared at his new ward. "And you would be?"

Crane quickly answered, "My name is Crane, and I-"

"Hold it, from this point on, only speak when spoken to, answer only what has been asked, end each sentence with the word sir, and do everything I say without complaint. Is that clear?"

Something in his gut told Crane he was not going to be making any friends in the army. "Yes sir."

"Good. You will call me Pike. Everyone does. The supervision of your training will be left to me."  
Pike motioned for another member of the group to step forward. "Barrows, can I trust him to you?" The one called Barrows nodded.  
Pike nodded back to him, "Good, listen Crane, from now until I say so, you will follow Barrows like a shadow and do what he does, and what he tells you to do. During your training Barrows will correct your form. Before that however you must be initiated into this unit. Barrows, your sword." Barrows turned his blade upside down and handed it to Crane by the hilt. After Crane had taken it in hand, Barrows backed away with the others and formed a large circle around Crane and Pike. Pike raised his sword, took in a breath, and lunged at Crane.

Crane had not been prepared for an attack and could only stand motionless with his own dumbfounded expression when Pike's strike left a clean cut on the hand he was holding his sword. The unexpected pain caused him to unconsciously release his grip. His health bar diminished slightly and he winced. He knew the pain was far less than a real wound of the same caliber would give but it hurt all the same.

Pike returned to his initial position and started speaking. "Do not release your sword in combat. Do not let your opponent hit your hand. Now pick up your sword."

Crane bent down to pick up his sword. When he gripped it he looked back to see Pike had already rushed to within two feet of him and had raised his foot to kick Crane's shoulder. The impact was hard enough to send Crane back four feet. His health bar reduced far more than the cut and he now only had half of his health remaining.

Pike had already returned to his starting position when he started to say, "Do not let your guard down. Do not look away from your opponent. This is the way of a warrior."

Although the kick was unexpected and made his entire body sore, he had not released his sword. Crane stared down Pike as he got up. Each time Pike was in his starting position he had the same stance, so Crane imitated it. Pike did not move and Crane could only stand there. Five minutes passed without either of them moving, Crane could feel the pressure building around him. Without any indication Pike lunged forward again. Crane raised his hand to his shoulder with the blade at the downward diagonal, a defense stance saw in the picture of a book. He was going to move to the side and try to catch Pike's sword on the opposite side to parry the attack. But when Crane tried to move he realized he couldn't. Pike stabbed Crane in the shoulder, pulled out his weapon and returned to his starting position. "Do not forget to mind your condition in battle. Tension can rob you of speed and your life."

Crane's health had dropped to less than a fourth. Pike didn't hit any vital points but he was a much higher level than Crane and his attacks did a fair amount of damage to him. One more hit would kill him for sure. Crane harden the grip on his sword and took a relaxed stance with his sword's tip resting on the ground. As he did he felt his awareness increase. He felt could see Pike more clearly. It was not that his vision suddenly improved, it was more like it had been cloudy before this point, and now he saw clearly. He could see Pike breathing, until he stopped. Crane raised his sword just as Pike leaped through the space between them. Crane felt his sword hum as Pike's sword grinded on it and the hilt's met each other with Pike's face only two inches from Crane's. Pike looked at Crane and nodded, releasing the pressure of his sword against Crane. "One cannot fight with a wandering mind. Only with a clear head can a swordsman show his full strength." Pike turned to the rest of the group and dismissed the lot.

Barrows motioned for Crane to follow him and return his sword. He lead him inside a building within the base where a man in a white robe met him. "Hello Barrows, what can I do for you this evening?" Barrows stepped aside do that the man could see Crane's bloody shoulder. "Ah, I see, Healing Hand." Light in the shape of a large hand looked like it grasped Crane's entire torso before disappearing. His wounds had vanished and his health became full. Crane thanked the man and asked for his name. "I am Priest Lot, of the Church of Magni. Members of our order volunteer to assist the Kallamore army as a token of goodwill." Barrows was off again so Crane thanked the Priest once more and hurried after Barrows.

Barrows stopped at an iron door and pulled out a key, unlocked it and opened the door to reveal the armory. He gestured to Crane to pick something from inside. There was a high variety of swords, spears, and axes to choose from. As Crane was looking through a barrel of them, Barrows opened a trunk in the back and started to rummage through its contents. Crane wanted to use identify on each sword but doubted Barrows would give him the time to do that, so he just picked up and gave a once over of each sword. When Barrows returned to Crane, he saw that Crane was holding a longsword with a wide guard. Crane looked up at Barrows and showed him his choice. Barrows put down what he had gotten from the trunk and took the sword from Crane's hands and examine it. He then looked carefully at Crane's arms and put the sword back into the barrel. Barrows then moved to a barrel in the corner of the armory and grabbed the handle of a thin bladed sword with a guard over the grip, and passed it to Crane and saying, "This one." Crane looked down at the sword and said "Identify."

Training Rapier  
Durability 35/40  
Damage 4~6  
This sword was made for swiftness as opposed to strength  
Options: AGI +5  
Requirements:  
None

Crane thought that Barrows must've felt that this was an appropriate weapon for Crane. Barrows then picked up the leather uniform he got out of the truck and passed it to Crane. He equipped it on himself and from his inventory screen looked at the item's stats

Infantry Uniform  
Durability 25/35  
Defense 7  
Leather armor made from various hides. Printed with the insignia of the army of Yarsan.  
Requirements:  
Membership in the Kallamore Army

Infantry Uniform  
Durability 25/35  
Defense 7  
Leather armor made from various hides. Printed with the insignia of the army of Yarsan.  
Requirements:  
Membership in the Kallamore Army

After Crane equipped the items, Barrows left the room and waited by the door. After Crane exited as well Barrows locked the door and started walking down the hall. Barrows and Crane reached what Crane believed to be the West Courtyard, where Crane saw a similar raised Wooden deck overlooking a large field, but instead of the field being filled with groups of people, the entire field was filled with hundreds of soldiers organized into columns and rows.

There was someone one the deck shouting the numbers one through twelve and a direction in random orders. Each time a number and direction was called the entire group of people performed an identical movement in the direction. What impressed Crane the most was the elegant beauty of the forms. Each movement could be performed from the end stance of any other movement. This was likely the Kallamore Kingdom's royal swordplay. Barrows and Crane passed the group and headed towards the face of the cliff. They reached a door, but before he opened it, Barrows turned to Crane and said, "Party."

Barrows has invited you to join his party  
Accept  
Yes|No

"Yes"

Barrows nodded then continued to lead Crane into the cliff. The passage lead down a flight of stairs to a dome shaped room with several doors spaced in the walls and a bearded man at a desk by the stairs.

The man looked up to Barrows and said, "You have come for the extermination yes? Those rats are spreading everywhere."

Barrows nodded and a Screen appeared before Crane.

Extermination  
Giant rats have found their way into the depths of the cellar and need to be taking care of.  
Progress  
000/200  
Requirements:  
Membership in Kallamore Army

This quest quest has been accepted by party leader and has been distributed to you

Barrows walked to the door furthest on the left and entered, followed by Crane. After the door shut behind him, Barrows sat down, leaning his back on the door. "You need to get used to that sword. Return when the rats are taken care of."

Barrows was not being lazy and Crane knew it, this was for his sake. Crane walked down the hallway and spotted the first rat. As was scurrying down the hall, Crane observed that although it had the proportions of a normal rat, it looked to be at least three feet in length. Crane already had his sword out and slowly approached the rat. The rat hissed and ran at Crane. Crane raised his sword and the rat leaped at him, and dropped onto the rat, slashing its face. But he lacked the strength to make it a fatal blow. The rat circled back but Crane never lost sight of it. He saw it was trying to get past him on his side so he reeled his sword back and stepped away to give the rat an opening. When it took it, Crane slashed through the rat's side. The rat disappeared.

You have leveled up

After the nobleman Torres's quest, Crane was at the point just before a level but had done nothing with it. Crane then remembered that he still had unused stat points from his first level up and wondered how to spend them. He would not be able to cleanly kill the rats without more Strength, but the sword given to Crane by Barrows implied that Crane should fight with speed. At this conclusion Crane decided he would divide his ten points evenly between them as well as for all levels at this time.

From that point on Crane developed his sword skills with each kill. The area was vast and the rats usually came in pairs or sets of three, but the narrow hallways prevented Crane from being surrounded completely. The rats were large and slow, but they gave little experience. That however was not what he was there for.

Crane gripped the sword tightly as he faced down a pair rats. He had begun to understand the properties of his sword. It was better for stabbing and thrusting than cleaving. It could also be used to make small precise cuts which although not fatal, can incapacitate his target.

Crane still had to work on his aim though. When he would try to stab he would often hit air, when he would attempt to cut at a rat's leg to slow him down he would occasionally miss. He was getting better, but if he ran into a group of more than three rats, he would run away.

A rat from the pair ran at Crane's leg. Crane stepped back and moved his sword into position. When the rat jumped Crane extended his arm and pierced through the rat. It disappeared as the the other rat ran at Crane and met a similar end.

Skill Level Up: Sword Mastery [2]  
Increase Attack power with sword (+20% ATK)  
Increase Attack speed with sword (+6% ATK SPD)

-

Three and a half hours had passed and Crane had forty rats to go. He had leveled up two more times and gained another level in Sword Mastery. As he thought, the rats were probably about the same strength if not just a bit stronger than rabbit, giving very little experience when killed. Crane found several areas with stored supplies, which was likely the area's original purpose. He used the bandages, herbs and rye bread there to bring himself to full health when he needed it.

Crane knew where the last ones were because they were all gathered in a single large room Crane had discovered and ran from earlier. Crane stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. He went over each piece of advice given to him by Pike earlier as well as what he had learned since. Crane quieted his mind and moved his hand to open the door.

*Bing

Quest complete: Extermination  
You have eradicated all the rats from the cellar.  
Return for your reward

Crane froze with his hand on the doorknob. He had checked the quest status not ten minutes ago and confirmed he was at 160/200.  
Crane opened the door to find Barrows walking towards him. As he passed through the door he said, "Too long."

Crane followed him back to the main room where the bearded man greeted him. "Thank you for your efforts. Now we can store supplies there again."

You have leveled up

Crane nodded to the man and followed Barrows up the stairs and outside. He took Crane to an empty spot near the wall and took out his sword. Crane followed suit. Barrows then took a stance and said, "Mirror me." Crane took a mirror image of the stance as Barrows slashed his sword and said, "One." Crane mirrored the slash and Barrows continued.

The Twelve forms originated from the powerful knights the King of Kallamore descended from. Each had a different strike pattern that started and ended in one of three positions, which one you choose to end it in is what determined what you next move could be. Each strike had three variations that each served a different purpose. The first variation was a basic attack that targeted an opening. The second variation used a circular wrist flick motion to parry or divert an attack at the attack's weakest point and then counter attack. The last used the circular wrist motion as a feint to invite the opponent to parry the half strength strike with his full strength which left an opening to attack. The three had a rock-paper-scissors relationship with attack beats feint, feint beat parry, and parry beats attack.

-

For the next several in game weeks, Barrows fashioned Crane into a respectable fighter. Crane fought monsters outside the city gates along side Barrow with Pike and the rest of his unit and inside the various monster filled chambers in the depths of the base. Barrows drilled the twelve forms into Crane until Crane could perform each one without instruction. After Crane had reached that point he participated in the mass training sessions in the west courtyard aside Barrows. However Barrows never spoke to Crane on any matter that was not related to training. Crane felt that if he was violently killed before Barrows, the man wouldn't bat an eye. Barrows did everything in his power to strengthen Crane but it was solely because he had been commanded to do so. Whenever Crane attempted to start a normal conversation with Barrows, he said nothing. It was almost as if he were thinking that the idea of conversing with Crane was beneath him.

During the second month after Crane joined as an infantry of Kallamore Kingdom, Crane was doing solo form practice when a message appeared on his screen.

You have learned new skill: Twelve Forms

Crane stopped practicing and went to see Barrows about what it meant. Barrows pulled out his sword and performed each of the twelve forms, however with each slash of his sword, there was a flash of light. What Barrows had done was not a movement, but a sword skill. A skill Crane could now use.

"Skill Window"

Skill Window

Identification [2] 6%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.  
Mana cost: 30

Sword Mastery [5] 59%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords.  
+50% ATK +15% ATK SPD while using a sword.

Twelve Forms [1] 0%: Increases strength and speed of body while fighting using the twelve forms.  
+10% STR +10% AGI  
Mana Cost: 20 per second

From that point on Crane participated in sparring matches with Barrows. Barrows did not go easy on him, and only stopped before the final blow. During that time, Crane had to go see Priest Lot at least twice a day. But Crane's skill proficiency for the twelve forms and for Sword Mastery increased little by little with each match. After two weeks of blood, sweat, more blood, and a lot of bandages, Pike witnessed a sparring session between Crane and Barrows. After Crane had been beaten to the ground, Pike spoke to them. "Barrows, you have done satisfactorily, you are relieved. Crane, tomorrow you are to be in the observation room at sun up. Because you no longer embarrass yourself while holding a sword, you will be tested to see if you are ready to be given a class." Barrows had left the moment Pike said Crane was no longer his problem and Pike left and he finished talking. Crane could only stand there wondering what had just happened.

The next morning Pike lead Crane to the room inside the fortress that had a second story deck overlooking it. "Above us are five instructors of the five different upper tier Kallamore warrior classes, Captain Elestas among them. We will spar here and they will observe you. After that they will decide whether you may convert to a Kallamore warrior and depending on how you turn out, decide which of them will be your instructor. However if you show that you are not worthy a being a warrior of Kallamore you will be dishonorably discharged and thrown out of this base.

Crane raised his sword and said, "Yes sir."

With a slightly please look, Pike raised own his sword and calmly walked over to him. Crane relaxed his body and took the initiative to strike first using the twelve forms skill. The form of his attack was flawless but Pike had sidestepped and parried it. Crane moved from that position into another strike and from that into another, smoothly and continuously striking Pike who parried, blocked, or dodged each strike with practiced ease. The reason behind the continuous attack chain was because Pike was better than he was. If Crane had given Pike a single moment, Pike who had seen each of Crane's textbook accurate moves a thousand plus times, would take the pace from him in an instance. Even though Crane was using the twelve form which increased his strength and speed, Pike was defending without using any skills, buffs, or even breaking a sweat. Crane had little choice but to use the speed of his thin blade to try to overwhelm him until Pike made a mistake.

The look on Pike's face told Crane he was amused. Not impressed by Crane's growth, his form or his speed, but amused by his choice of tactics against Pike. Pike and Crane knew of course that a single serious attack with Pike's higher level strength would blow past any defense Crane could use. To prevent Pike from using a attack Crane must force him to defend. Pike was amused because among the dozens of options Crane had, even though he would soon run out of the mana necessary to continue the the use of the twelve forms, he choose to fight in the only way he stood any chance of defeating Pike. Pike was amused, because that meant Crane was fighting against all odds with the intention of winning.

Crane made a precise slash to Pike's neck, a standard form six attack. Pike raised his sword in a movement that looked like it was suppose to repel the slash, but before the swords met, Pike tucked in his hand, pulled his leg back lowering his stance, and thrust his sword at Crane's neck as Crane's sword passed over Pike's lowered head.

Crane froze his position when he saw Pike's thrust but Pike's sword had stopped just before piercing Crane's neck. Crane heard applause from the upper balcony as Pike removed his sword from Crane's throat and bowed to them. Crane did as well.

Crane could not see the people but he heard footsteps from the stairs that lead up to the balcony and saw four people, Captain Elestas among them. Elestas spoke first with a slightly disappointed tone. "That was some impressive sword play. If you had more experience it might've turned into quite a match. I did not tell you last time we met but I am the Knight Instructor, and this man here, the Barbarian Instructor." Crane looked and the large broad shouldered man and wondered how well he could do as a barbarian.

Crane didn't mind the hardships he'd deal with under Elestas if it meant becoming a Knight of Kallamore, considered to be the strongest knights on the continent, and the man next to her didn't look so bad either. A knight or Barbarian would be just fine with him. But there were two more and one seemed to be missing.

The other two men were clearly a spearman and paladin respectfully. The spearman who had the largest mustache Crane had ever seen remained quiet while the paladin said, "You have proven your worth and may now become a Kallamore warrior, after that it will be clear what kind of warrior you shall become, I do hope you get faith."

Crane was a bit confused by what they were saying and asked, "Sir, what do you mean it will become clear? Is there a great difference between a common warrior and a kallamore warrior?"

The paladin replied, "Of course! I had forgotten you were indeed a foreigner! Yes, although a Kallamore warrior and a common one are the same in most ways, a kallamore warrior has two clear advantages. A increase in stats at conversion for one, and as for the other. Many advanced warrior classes have an added stat which determines you class's attack skill's power. Mine for example is Faith, and Elestas's is honor. When you convert to a kallamore warrior the most fitting stat will be assigned based on the class with your highest potential, that is why I stated I hope you get faith, then you could be a warrior under me until your skills improve and then you too would become a paladin. In most cases this also allows you to build up the stat even before becoming the class, granting an obvious advantage. This is truly the secret to why the soldier of the Royal Kallamore army are the strongest in the continent."

It sounded a lot like cheating to Crane but at least he had not gone through two and a half months of getting the crap beaten out of him for nothing. Elestas brought out the helmet he saw almost every soldier in the base wearing and gave it to Crane. He looked at it and said in a low voice, "Identify."

Kallamore Warrior's helmet  
Durability 50/50  
Defense 10  
Made through the secrets of Kallamore royal blacksmiths, this light helmet is the symbol of a Kallamore Warrior.  
Options:  
Grants option to Change Class to Kallamore Warrior when first worn  
Requirements:  
Membership in the Kallamore Army

Crane took in a deep breath and put on the helmet

-You can convert to a Kallamore Warrior!  
If you accept it, you can gain a bonus stat determined by your abilities. Warning, after accepting this class change you lose the ability to convert to a class that was not used by the royal family of Kallamore.  
Do you want to convert now?  
Yes|No

The last line looked dangerous, if Crane converted he could not change to a class not related to the royal family. The only classes related to the royal family were in the Royal Kallamore Army, meaning if he ever left the army he would never be able to change classes again. But Crane had steeled his resolve, he would not have come this far without the will power to move further.

"Yes.'

Crane was engulfed in light. After it died down, a row of messages appeared.

New Stat Finesse  
You have learned new skill: Flurry  
You have learned new skill: Dash  
You have learned new skill: Power Lunge

Elestas came over and said, "Well, show us you stats and skils already."

"Show Stats and skill window"

Status Window

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 32

Class- Kallamore Warrior

Title- None

Fame- None

Health- 1660

Mana- 1020

Stamina- 30+16

Strength- 80+26

Agility- 85+31

Luck- 0+10

Finesse- XX+10

Wisdom- 50+20

Intellect- 50+20

Attack- 32

Defense- 7

+ All stats are added 10  
+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack  
+ Decreases Mana Consuption for Sword Skills by 50%  
+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse  
+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing Kallamore Warrior's helmet  
+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing Kallamore Warrior's helmet

Skills Window

Identification [2] 6%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.  
Mana Cost: 30

Sword Mastery [6] 6%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords.  
+60% ATK +18 ATK SPD while using a sword.

Twelve Forms [3] 77%: Increases strength and speed of body while fighting using the twelve forms.  
+30% STR +30% AGI  
Mana Cost: 10 per second

Flurry [1] 0%: Rapid series of thrusts  
3 thrusts per second  
Mana Cost: 15 per second

Dash [1] 0%: Move a great distance in a single step  
Mana Cost: 10

Power Lunge [1] 0%: A strengthen piercing attack that covers some distance  
Mana Cost: 45

Crane was surprised to see the jump in his stats. Not only had the class given +10 to all stats but +20% more while he wore his helm! The crowd gathered around, looking at what stat the foreigner had gotten, and they all smacked their foreheads with a, "Oh, no, not that one." when they saw the stat, 'Finesse.'

From the stairs emerged an older gentleman with balding hair and and a scar across his forehead.

Crane froze in place as he walked towards him.

"I told you would would meet again kid, I'll be your instructor."


	5. Vol1 Chapter5 The Variable Stat Finesse

Chapter 5

The variable stat, Finesse

The other instructors and Pike had left after Owens descended the stairs. Owens looked at Crane's status screen carefully and said, "Your stats and level don't add up, why do you have so much on INT and WIS?"

"Ummm... I read a lot..."

"Seriously?"

"Yes sir. From the point I last met you until two months ago I was in the library reading dozens of books a day."

"So that's what happened huh. Well that explains why you learned the twelve forms in two months. Wisdom decreases the time it takes for a person to learn a skill as well as a few other things."

"Excuse me sir, everyone seems impressed that I can use the twelve forms skill, but the credit should go to Barrows who trained me."

Owens chucked a bit and said, "Kid, there is something you have yet to understand. Barrows, along most of the other people who have the twelve forms as a skill are members of nobility. Because of their highborn stature they're given the priority to use the limited skill books we have which allow for instant use of the twelve forms as a skill. Although practice is considered mandatory, fewer than 1 in 200 of our infantrymen have gained its use as a skill. But don't be fooled, even with high wisdom you didn't have a class. Not having a sword based class means you learn skills at half the rate as a sword user. "

Crane had followed Owens to his study, which was to Crane's surprise, had a quite a few books. "Welcome to my office kid." Owen sat at one end of his desk and motioned for Crane to sit at the other. "Sir," Crane asked, "Why does my new stat not have a value? It should be at zero with plus ten shouldn't it?" "Thats what I'm about to tell you kid." Owens waited for Crane to seat himself before starting up again. "Now, Finesse. It is what we call a variable stat. When you use a skill that is based off finesse, how well you perform the activation routine is rated on a scale of one to one hundred. The higher the rating, the more powerful the effect of the skill. Most finesse skills are a personal use buffs." Owen picked up a book on his table and dropped it in front of Crane. "I said before that nobility are given priority to skill book use but your performance today showed you deserve these things way more than those pompous, self-serving, backstabbing... Never mind, this one is yours now. The skills here require the Finesse stat to use anyways so no point in saving them for someone else."

Crane put his hand on the cover of the book and and said, "Identify."

Soa's Legacy  
C-Grade Skill book  
The autobiography of Soa Thorn  
Shows detailed drawing of pre-form routines used by the Kingdom of Kallamore's most elegant swordsman throughout the book.  
Teaches the skill: Soa's Routines  
Single Use  
Requirements:  
Sword based class with Finesse Stat

Crane looked at Owen, "Is it really ok for me to use this sir?"

Owen replied, "Course it is, I learned those skills years ago, this isn't the only copy of this book."

Now Crane understood why the book was only C-grade item. Although it would teach several highly useful skills, it could only be learned by a very small group of people and this book had several copies. There may even have been more copies of this book than there were people who could use it.

Crane put his hand over the book again and said, "Learn."

You have learned new skill: Soa's Routines

Crane said aloud, "Skill window Soa's Routine "

Skill Window Soa's Routine

Soa's Routine [1] 0%

Majestic Stance- Increases attack strength and speed of techniques performed after stance used  
-ATK and ATK SPD +10% for 2 technique after use at level [1]  
Mana Cost: 20

Regal Guard- Increase defense and chance of successful parry after use  
-Defense +5 Luck +10 at level [1]  
Mana Cost: 30

Noble Step- Increase movement speed to dodge oncoming attack after use  
-Movement speed +20% for 2 steps after use at level [1]  
Mana Cost: 15

All effects are multiplied by Finesse stat/100

Crane had not been told yet so he had to ask. "Sir, what kind of class uses finesse? If I can't add points to it is there any point in gaining the stat before becoming the class?"

"Wait wait, just give me a moment to explain. The class that you're going to become when your skills and level are high enough is called Fencer. Besides the fact that being a Fencer adds +50 to your finesse, as a fencer you will be able to create your own routines and buffs. In order to do that however you must understand the source of power behind finesse and I can't tell you it. Only after you figure it out yourself can you make the most out of finesse and create your own forms when you become a fencer."

"I understand sir, but how does a high level fencer compare to say, a knight or paladin?"

"That depends entirely on how well you come to understand the finesse stat. If you fail to understand it you will be be no match for any swordsman of the same level. But if you master it not only will you gain a power equal to anyone's you will be able to create forms that can do anything any skill of a knight or paladin can do. Know of course this is no easy thing, the number of fencers who rose to this level on in the history of the continent can be counted on the fingers of one hand."

"Can you do it sir?"

"Nope, I'm better than your average swordsman but I got cheated at a crucial part of my growth that prevented me from mastering it and creating my own routines."

"How did you get cheated?"

Owens looked down at Crane with a smirk and said, "I asked too many questions about finesse and got all the answers instead of figuring out myself. But that's enough of that, now that you have a class and some skills it is time to put you to work. You'll be heading off on an escort mission tomorrow morning. Until then you are dismissed."

Crane let out a deep sigh and stood up. Owen then said, "Wait, I forgot one last thing to give you, a graduation from basic training present." Owen pulled a sword from beneath the table and presented it to Crane. Crane took the sword and said, "Identify."

Light Rapier  
Durability 77/80  
Damage- 10~12  
A fine rapier made of quality iron. The back of the blade was made with a stronger iron, making it more durable  
Options: +5 AGI  
Requirements:  
STR 50  
AGI 50

The sword was vastly superior to what he had been using and was of a higher quality than he should've received. Crane looked at Owen for a moment but only thanked him before leaving.

For the next few hours Crane practiced his new skills while trying to incorporate Soa's routines into his swordplay. Each rountine was a small, precise motion that put an emphasis on elegant movement. Majestic stance require Crane to stand in a specific form, then from that form move his left hand behind his back while making a circle with the tip of the sword in his right and stop in the stance in a position that basically said, 'I will defeat you with flair.' Regal Guard required him to stand in a simular starting pose but he had to sweep his back leg behimd him, make a twist with his wrist and end it with his sword pointed up and his wrist an inch in front of his chest. Noble Step had to be started with all the weight on one foot and the other foot touching the ground by the toe with the sword in front of the chest pointed up. The skills could not be stacked until intermediate level. Whenever he used a routine a number flash in his vision showing what Finesse stat he got for that routine. However even with eight hours of trial and error practice he could only average 20~30 finesse per use. When he ran out of mana for practicing he would practice the motions until his mana returned.

As the morning came, a man who was clearly a Knight Crane never saw before and a short young man who looked only a little older than Crane found him practicing. The Knight said, "My name is Levi and this young master is Geoffry Xander Cornilius Koritan. Master Koritan requires a specimen found in the plains and is going to retreive it. I of course will accompany him for his protection but should something happen to me, he will need at least one other person. However the master has certain requirements, he disdains travelling with people older than he is, myself excluded. I asked for assistance from the army and was informed you were the most skilled swordsman who was younger than the master." The nobleman next to Levi looked at Crane and said, "Will you do it?"

Obtaining the specimen  
A nobleman of Yarsan had insisted that only someone younger than himself may escort him with his knight bodyguard to find something in the grasslands, and you're who the army pointed out.  
Difficulty: D

Quest Requirements:  
Younger than the quest giver  
Fail if Nobleman dies

This quest is given to you as a member of the Army, refusal or failure will result in criminal charges.

Crane read the details on the message for a moment before answering.

"As you command."

You have accepted the quest

Crane didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.

After that Crane and Levi both purchased many supplies for themselves and Levi lead them through the city gates and onto a gravel road.

Crane wanted to ask what the hell they were looking for, but didn't. The young nobleman would likely use anything Crane said or did against him. Geoffry spotted a group of wolves in the distance and said to Crane, "I am bored, entertain me and kill those dogs."

Crane looked up to Levi for a moment but he didn't say anything so Crane could only reply, "As the master wishes."

At least his would have something to vent his frustration on. He could barely use the routines, but he still had the swordsman skills he gained when he got the class and had yet to use them on something living. Crane walked to the group and let out a loud whistle. The group immediately noticed him and started running. The first thing he wanted to try was a combo of Dash and Power Lunge, to see if they complemented each other. As the first wolf approached him he used both the skills simultaneously, shortening the distance between the coyote and himself in a single step while reeling back his arm to perform his power lunge. The coyote had not expected the sudden acceleration and tried to turn away, but the point of Crane's power lunge followed it and ended him in an instance. The other two coyotes circled Crane, but he never lost their position. Crane showed his back to them to get them to attack in the same direction. In the moment he felt they would attack, Crane turned and met their attack with a barrage of piercing attacks. His flurry skill was a continuous mana burner but it did the trick. The wolves unwilling jumped into a wall of stabs and dissolved before they could make a sound.

The use of skills was just for show. Crane had hunted wolves with his former unit many times and was currently at least twice their level. That and he had just gained the +50% attack bonus that every warrior class enjoyed.

Crane sheathed his sword and returned to his audience. Geoffry smiled and said, "Levi could take them all with a single attack from a distance. But I guess that you have some skill for a commoner." Crane could only repress a, 'you wanna be next brat?!'

Crane had read many stories that involved circumstances like this one so he tried to act the part of the ever so humble adventurer. In some of those stories the nobleman had been targeted by assassins, gotten sick and died from exposure, or eaten by monsters the nobleman found and thought 'would make wonderful pets.' Crane spent his time wondering which of those he would rather have occur, but he would be imprisoned if the quest failed, so he decided it would be for the best to avoid those ends. Although it was just an escort mission the quest difficulty was not E, but D. Crane was not going to underestimate the quest.

After three days of walking on the path, Levi and Geoffry turned and continued off the path. After another half hour of walking Levi said, "We have arrived young master." The only thing Crane saw was there was a dead tree. Levi walked up to the base of the tree and pulled open a hidden hatch. Geoffery went in first and Levi waited for Crane to enter before entering himself and closing the hatch behind him. Levi then said, "What we need is at the end of this dungeon."

Now the difficulty of the quest became clear, this dungeon was likely filled with monsters much higher than his level and not only did he have to make it the end and back, but do so while making sure a spoiled nobleman didn't die along the way.

They went down a long flight of stairs which lead to a door. Levi said to Crane, "I will take care of the monsters, you are to protect the young master and stay by his side. You are not to be distracted by fallen items. You may only fight monsters I allow you to fight. Is that clear?" Levi gave Crane a stern gaze and he knew why. If Crane was the type to leave Geoffry's side in search of experience and japtem then he was less than useless. Crane said, "I will protect him with my life and watch our backs." Levi nodded and opened the door.

*Ding*

You are the first adventurer to enter the Depths of the Burrower  
Benefits: Fame increased by 40.  
Double experience, 2x item drop rate.  
The first monster killed will drop a good quality item.

According to the royal road guide, the first party to enter a dungeon with a user activated a bonus. Although the Knight with him had likely been here before, Crane was the first user since Royal Road's release to enter the dungeon.

The tunnels looked like they had been dug by giant moles, twisting and parting at various places with strange glowing roots sticking out from the rounded dirt walls that covered the tunnels in a light blue glow. Crane had been on the lookout for for any signs of monster activity when Levi stopped. There was a tremor in the ground and the walls of the dirt tunnel opened revealing giant wolf sized insects. To Crane they looked like a cross between an ant and a beetle, and there were now six of them in front of Levi. The Knight drew his long sword and started slashing away at the bugs, cleaving through each one with a single stroke. From that point on there was an almost constant stream of insects, flowing through the walls at them.

Levi always seemed to position the party so that the grass beetles would always appear in front of him. But at one point he said, "Get ready!" Two bugs popped out from the ground behind them while Levi fought what looked to be more than a dozen bugs on his side. Crane had been observing the bugs Levi killed and noticed that they only attack with their mandibles and had a hard exoskeleton. They were the kind of enemy that required squishing as opposed to piercing. Crane had a moment before they were within range so took his Majestic Stance. 35! Higher than he got while practicing, the stance gave him a small boost in attack strength and speed for his next two attacks. When the bugs were within his sword's reach, he used his flurry attack to send a strengthened wall of thrusts. However unlike the wolves he met earlier, the weak series of thrusts either scratched or bounced off the hard exterior. It only kept them at bay until Crane ran out of mana which would be in about thirty more seconds. The bugs inched closer and closer and after ten seconds were within striking range of Crane, until Levi's sword swept them both in a single hit. In the twenty something seconds since Crane had looked behind him, Levi had killed all the bugs on his side. Levi looked at Crane and said, "You'll never get anywhere poking their shells with your kind of strength. Instead of Flurry, pierce the space between the sections."

After that Crane had more luck, the level of the grass beetles were around the mid 40s, and Crane took about half a minute of stabbing the gaps between the shells to kill a single bug while avoiding the bite from it's mandibles. Somehow Levi must've known where the bugs would appear from the ground, because Crane never had to fight more bugs than he could handle. About an hour after entering the dungeon Crane had leveled up 3 times. The experience from high level monsters and a double exp bonus for being the first User to discover the dungeon were the reason for the absurd pace of his leveling.

After Crane had gotten more adept at killing the bugs, Levi seemed to make it so he was now facing at least four bugs at a time. Geoffry had not actually said a word since their arrival, for which Crane was grateful for. It may have been because he knew better, or more likely that he was reasonably entertained by their battles. Either way it didn't matter, Crane stayed close to Geoffry killing monsters, practicing his finesse buffs, and leveling up through the whole place.

To Crane it seemed that they were traveling in circles. They had been in the tunnels for 2 whole days, and Crane had leveled up to 47, his sword mastery hit level 8, and his finesse stat was averaging 40.

Skill Level Up: Soa's Routine [3]  
Your routines have greater effect

Crane had just killed another bug with a finesse boosted strike when he got a message it had leveled up. "Show Skill Window Soa's Routine"

Skill Window Soa's Routine

Soa's Routine [3] 1%

Majestic Stance- Increases attack strength and speed of techniques performed after stance used  
-ATK and ATK SPD +30% for 3 technique after use  
Mana Cost: 20

Regal Guard- Increase defense and chance of successful parry after use  
-Defense +15 Luck +30 for next movement  
Mana Cost: 30

Noble Step- Increase movement speed to dodge oncoming attack after use  
-Movement speed +90% for 3 steps after use  
Mana Cost: 15

All effects are multiplied by Finesse stat/98

The effects of the skills had increased and the reduction under the finesse stat had decreased. Crane's skills could now take down a bug in as little as three hits.

Crane saw that Levi had noticed the change, as he started descending further down into the dungeon. From these walls came darker bugs with smaller gaps between their armor. These were likely the soldier bugs and the other variety was the workers. Once again Crane was back to taking up to thirty seconds to kill a single bug, but he was grateful he could get stronger before coming down here. Then Crane realized what was happening.

Levi first fought in front of Crane, revealing the bugs patterns. He then allowed Crane to fight a small amount and gave advice on the bugs weaknesses. After that he gave only the amount Crane could work with, increasing Crane's skill proficiency and level, and waited while wandering in circles for Crane to rise to this point.

Levi was basically investing in Crane. Although this could be seen as a kind gesture, Crane saw the truth. No matter how powerful Levi was, even if he could protect Geoffrey on his own, when they reached the end of the dungeon Levi would not be able to protect him with certainty. That is why he was strengthening Crane.

In this way another two days past in the dungeon and Crane gained eight more levels. He has also gotten experienced with the soldier bugs movements and could take on up to five at a time. Crane sometimes caught Levi smirking at him from the corner of his eye.

As Levi, Geoffry and Crane were descending again, Levi stopped and said, The Queen's chamber and the specimen the young master seeks are at the end of this tunnel. In the corner of the chamber is a boulder. Follow the young master to it, he will stay there and you must protect him while I deal with the queen. You understand?" Crane said, "No harm shall come to him under my watch." Levi looked at Geoffry and said, "Are you ready young master?" He smiled and said, "Make it a great show." The knight nodded and the party continued to the queen's chamber.

The room was larger than his middle school auditorium and completely empty. Crane saw a refrigerator sized rock in the corner of the room and went over to it with Geoffry. Levi went to the center of the room and the ground started to quake. From the ground emerge something that looked like a cross between a beetle and a lobster, and was as large as a truck. Above the bug was a name, The Burrower. After a thought Crane realized that the queen was the one who made the tunnels and the dungeon. After it appeared it did not look at Levi, but Crane and Geoffry.

The creature started to rush to them as Levi used his Bash skill on the bug, sending it to the opposite wall and charging at it. Before Levi could get to it the bug screamed. Levi then started fighting it, using massive skills but the bug used it's large frontal claws as shields against his attacks and used the pause between skills to strike at Levi.

Meanwhile, the entire room started to shake in a low hum. Dozens of bugs, both soldier and worker, popped out from the dirt. Levi was on one side of the room fighting the Borrower, and Crane was on the other with Geoffry and a boulder behind him. The bugs appeared from the walls, floor and roof. Who ever they were closer to on their emergence they would move towards, leaving Crane with twenty plus and counting bugs to deal with.

He took a peek behind him at Geoffry who was sitting against the rock with a relaxed smile on his face, watching Levi fight the queen. It was not that Geoffry had confidence that he would be fine or that he had the skills to take care of himself. Crane concluded that Geoffry, who had been protected and pampered all his life could not even register a sense of fear. It must've been like watching a movie, or playing one of the video games that Crane hated.

At that last thought he could feel a sense of fury rise inside him. Crane looked at the sea of bugs that approached him, and imagined his sword piercing each one. They were no longer enemies, just a means to vent his frustration at the brat behind him. At that moment to Crane, the battle was already over. He performed a Majestic stance. 75! The fact that his finesse stat had gone 35 points over what it had ever gone before was irrelevant to him. "Twelve forms," he muttered, Crane began the extermination. He no longer had a sense of self, he had become an extension of the technique. Crane had over 1200 mana left after using Majestic Stance, and the reduced mana cost of twelve forms was 10 mana per second. Against the endless wave of bugs, if Levi had not defeated the queen in under two minutes, Crane would be left defenseless. Crane's sense of time had extended from his stance's AGI buff allowing him to aim for the weakest point of the bugs and score consecutive critical hits, but it made seconds feel like hours and he did not know how much longer it would take before Levi was finished. Crane could only take on each bug that got in his range one at a time until his slowly depleting mana bar ran dry. So with abandoned fury he annihilated bug after bug after bug.

After slaying another worker, Crane saw the last of his mana bar disappear. Crane would not go down without a fight, so he started to use his regular attacks. The soldier bug in front of him was damaged by his attack but it did not fall and was close enough to give Crane a nasty bite. Crane noticed his health had dropped to about half, and that another bug was coming at him from the side. Crane stabbed the soldier bug through the eye into its head, dealing a critical hit and dissolving it just as two worker bugs came at him with the first he saw a moment ago taking a bite out of him. With less than a quarter of his health remaining, Crane jumped onto his attacker's back and fought the second bug while his ride bucked up and down. Crane got a lucky shot on the second bug and was able to kill it. He then turned his blade down and put his weight into boring the sword through the gap between its body and head armor, right through its neck. The worker dissolved and Crane looked around for his next target, desperate to take down at least one more before his was killed. But there were none.

New Stat: Fighting Spirit

New Stat: Vitality

Crane ignored the messages and looked for Geoffry to see him still sitting calmly against the boulder and Crane realized that not only were the rest of the bugs on Levi's side, but that they had stopped coming through the walls at some point. Crane heard the queen let out another loud screech as it dissolved into nothingness. Levi took care of the other dozen or so bugs left in ten or so strikes and rushed over to Crane and Geoffry only to see that Geoffry was fine and there were no bugs left on Crane's side.

"I can't believe you finished before I did," said Levi.

Crane said, "I only survived because you helped strengthen me to this point, and because the waves of bugs stopped. If you hadn't waited for me to get stronger by annihilating hundreds of the bugs in the dungeon during the wait, the waves would've lasted five times longer and I would've been bug food."

Levi replied to that, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I may have used my Knight's Sixth Sense skill to find monster locations and let you have a few, but the reason we traveled in circles earlier is because that queen changes this dungeon's layout every few weeks and I got completely lost."

Crane's respect for Levi as a level headed knight who thought every action through vanished. Levi approached the rock as Geoffry got up and watched him slash through the rock at a diagonal. The top part slid off and a green goo started to pour out. Crane realize why the queen headed for him and Geoffry at the beginning, it was protecting its young. Geoffry got out an empty jar large enough to fit one's head inside and dumped it into the egg, scooping out what looked like a huge bug larva.

Quest Complete: Obtaining the specimen  
The nobleman obtained the specimen he requested and did not receive a single injury along the way.

You have Leveled Up  
You have Leveled Up  
You have Leveled Up

Crane walked up to the sliced egg and put his hand on the shell, "Identify."

Queen Grass Beetle egg  
Filled with Larva.  
Matures to full growth eight weeks after hatching.  
Required food and nourishment for the first two weeks from their mother

Crane was disgusted when he realized what had just happened. This spoiled brat wanted this bug for some reason and he had everything that was in his way, the bug's mother included, killed to get it. Although these bugs were not exactly cute and cuddly, the whole thing gave Crane a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Crane asked Levi, "If I am no longer of any service to you, I would like to return separately." This was more than a statement, it was a test. The reason Levi brought Crane in the first place was because no matter how strong you are, this is not a place one should be alone. If Levi valued Crane he would insist on Crane returning with them. If Crane was seen as a tool to be used by Geeofry then Levi would have no further use of him and would not care either way.

Levi said, "Do as you will, the reward for your services will be left at your base." Levi left the queen's chamber with Geoffry behind him.


	6. Vol1 Chapter6 The Skill to Win

Chapter 6  
The skill to win

The first thing Crane did after the pair he was left alone was collect the loot and money from the ground. He had killed at least eighty bugs on his side and Levi had done likewise and the queen as well. Crane found knife where the queen was slain and picked it up.

"Identify."

Steel Throwing Knife  
Durability 40/40  
Damage 7~10  
This knife was made with a perfect balance to be thrown.  
Requirements:  
+50 AGI

Crane suddenly became aware of his lack of distance attacks. The knife had decent damage and would need to be retrieved after it's use, but if Crane practiced a lot he knew he should be able to gain the skill Throw. Crane held the knife as he walked through the dungeon. Although most of the beetles had been called by the queen and killed, there were still many left in the dungeon. When a group popped up the first thing Crane would do was throw his knife. After that Crane would take out his sword and kill the beetles. However for the first few attempts it he couldn't aim at all. After a while the blade was finally going where he wanted it to, but it took longer still for Crane to get the hang of making sure the blade was facing the target at the moment of contact. All the while Crane wandered through the tunnels collecting the loot of the monsters Levi and himself, but mostly Levi, had killed.

Fighting Spirit increased by 1 point. (+1 FGT SP)

Crane had been receiving +1 messages for the vitality and fighting spirit stat since he got them after defeating the wave of beetles, but had not looked up their use yet. "Show Stat Fighting Spirit and Vitality."

Fighting Spirit  
You can call on superhuman strength temporarily, or bring weaker monsters to their knees with a force n your eyes alone. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat, it rises spontaneously, depending on the avatar's action, especially if you fight monsters for a long time, or often confront monsters stronger than your current level. Dying or running away from battles may lower this stat

Vitality  
You are likely to use less stamina in action. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat, it raises when performing actions for an intense actions for a long duration.

Crane could only smile. From what he understood of their uses, fighting spirit increased after winning a battle that was fought at the edge of life and death, and vitality increased after fighting for an incredibly long duration. In other words Crane just had to fight hard and fight often.

A side effect of this strategy to enter more intense fights was that he was injured a lot more, and although he packed two weeks worth of herbs, rye bread, and bandages, he would eventually run out. Crane had considered ending his intensive battle streak when, after another blow, he received another message.

New Stat: Endurance

After the battle, Crane said, "Show Stat Endurance."

Endurance  
Reduces physical damage and slightly increases life. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat.

And again, Crane smiled. Now he would purposely take strong hits, enduring the pain so he could increase his new stat. Crane now had everything he needed and no reason to leave, until...

After dealing the finishing blow to another Beetle, Crane heard a sharp CRACK sound from his sword, and a message appeared.

Your sword's durability has reached 2/80  
If you continue to use your sword it shall break and sustain unrepairable damage

Crane felt a shiver of fear as he realized he needed to get back to the city immediately. He had already collected all the fallen loot he could find and was currently taking advantage of the 2x experience he had for another day. Crane rushed back to the entrance as fast as he could, when he encountered monsters he used repeated Dashes to get through the slow moving bugs.

After an hour of running around and having just finished off his mana, Crane found the door to the surface and went through. When he opened the latched his eyes screamed out in pain. Crane had forgotten that he had been in a dimly lit with glowing roots underground dungeon for almost a week. Crane shut his eyes for about three minutes before he slowly opened them for another five minutes.

After regaining his sight, he knew the first thing he wanted to see. "Show stats and skill window."

Status Window

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 71

Class- Kallamore Warrior

Title- None

Fame- 40

Health- 3130

Mana- 1530

Stamina- 30+16

Endurance- 12+12

Strength- 150+45

Agility-155+46

Vitality- 14+12

Fighting Spirit- 8+10

Luck- 0+10

Finesse- XX+10

Wisdom- 60+22

Intellect- 60+22

Attack- 154

Defense- 35

+ All stats are added 10  
+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack  
+ Decreases Mana Cost for Sword Skills by 50%  
+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse  
+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet  
+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet

Skills Window

Identification [6] 78%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.  
Mana Cost: 30

Sword Mastery [9] 86%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords.  
+90% ATK +27% ATK SPD while using a sword.

Twelve Forms [6] 3%: Increases strength and speed while fighting using the twelve forms.  
+60% STR +60% AGI  
Mana Cost: 10 per second

Flurry [2] 73%: Rapid series of thrusts  
3 thrusts per second  
Mana Cost: 30 per second

Dash [4] 32%: Move a great distance in a single step  
Mana Cost: 10

Power Lunge [5] 23%: A strengthen piercing attack that covers some distance  
Mana Cost: 45

Soa's Routines [3] 55%: The routines used by Kallamore Kingdom's most elegant swordsman

A week's worth of fighting higher level monsters at double experience did wonders for his level and his sword mastery which increases at twice the rate because of his warrior sub-profession. However even though his twelve forms and identify skill were highly useful in there, his dash, flurry and Power Lunge however were not so much against bug shells.

The only thing that had not increased another level was Soa's Routine. After the fluke in the queen's chamber, he still could not reach past 50 finesse when using the skill, and it seemed that low finesse techniques barely if at all increased the proficiency of the skill.

Crane looked around and saw nothing in all direction. Crane knew his position was west of a road that was north of the city of Yarsan, so he headed southeast until he hit the road. Another two days of walking and Crane saw the Cliff that marked the city. After returning, Crane went to to shopping district to try to sell his items. Although the shoddy equipment he found would sell for something, few people would hang onto bug parts to try to sell them. But Crane knew better than most people. According to some of the books Crane read, certain bug pieces did have a use.

Crane entered the Sorcerer's shop and looked around. This shop was the only place in the city where people could buy magic ingredient and items. However according to the law, the store could only sell magical tools that only magicians could use which were mostly pointless and redundant. Because of that the store became a specialty store that sold items required for magic ceremonies and rituals, potions, and potion ingredients. Crane walked up to the shop counter.

Crane looked at the merchant and calmly asked, "This store buys and sells ingredients for potions and the like correct?"

"Of course, we buy ingredients to make potions ourselves or to sell back to people who make their own."

"What can you tell me about the shell of the Grass beetle? Do you have any in stock?"

"That it is a mid-class ingredient that can be used to make strong stamina enhancing potions popular with warriors. But I am sorry sir, we do not have any in stock."

"I see, would you care to buy some from me?"

The merchant's eyes lit up, "Of course, but there are several grades of that ingredient. If you show me all you have, I will give you a fair price that takes into account the overall grade of the stock." Crane knew that the merchant would claim his haul was lower quality than it actually was to pay as little as possible for it. But could not have known that Crane had the identify skill, and leveled it up four times sorting each and every piece he had into bags ranked by their quality.

Crane took out three bags and placed them on the table. "I have taken the liberty of sorting by grade, I think you will find everything in order, and I would like to negotiate on the price of each separately." The merchant was doomed as soon as he told Crane what the item was used for. With his extensive knowledge of item prices he obtained from reading, Crane knew exactly what the merchant could sell it for, and negotiated until the merchant would only make a profit by the barest of margins. However Crane had another goal in mind.  
"You drive one of the hardest deals I've ever seen, but ok. I'll buy the low grade bag for 35G, the mid grade for 63G, and the high grade 112G. That is a total of 210 gold pieces and the absolute highest I can go, take it or leave it." It finally reached the point Crane had been waiting for. "Sir, your deal sounds reasonably to me, but before I take it, I have a question, do you make your own potions?"

"Why yes I do, every bottle in this store was made by yours truely."

"That's incredible, in that case, I've changed my mind. I'll give you everything I have for free if you can teach me your skill!"

Any profession that involves magic, whether magician or potion maker required a great deal of money. Due to this, most if not all members of these professions are always money hungry, and practically giving the man 200 gold pieces for nothing was an excellent way to disorient him. Although any decent cook could make a potion or tonic, only people with the alchemy skill could truly make potions with powerful effects from lower quality ingredients. An NPC with a skill can teach the skill to a User, but of all the skills that could be learned, Alchemy was the most well guarded. Alchemists were few in number and the craft guild preferred it that way to allow monopolization of the high grade potions.

The man blinked for a few seconds as if he could not register what Crane had said, but as his mind slowly reassembled. The words, 'two hundred gold', 'free', 'teach', and 'skill', lined up in a row inside his head. The man then said, "It's a deal, come on in the back and I'll show you how's it's done." The man picked up the bag of low grade bug pieces and took them to a small couldron in the back of his store. He dropped the bug shell in then poured several vials into the couldron and said, "Watch carefully, the secret of potion making is in the stirring." Crane watched carefully as the merchant stirred in a figured eight pattern that slowly rotated clockwise.

You have learned new Skill: Alchemy

After showing him the skill he left the cauldron and went to a bookshelf in the back.

"Here you go, it is the oldest book I have. I have long since memorized the recipes in it and it does no one any good collecting dust on a bookshelf, so you should take it, and these as well." Crane only smiled and received the book and the empty bottles from the merchant. As he left through the door he said, "Good bye and have a nice day."

At his words the merchant shook his head as if he had woken up from a dream. "What just happened here..?"

Whether or not he would realize what had happened Crane did not know, but he knew he would not have as much luck with the blacksmith. Before he got there he took out the book he got and looked at it. The cover was blue but it was so worn the words on the cover were no longer legible. "Identify."

Potent Recipes of Kallamore  
Gives lists of ingredients of various potion recipes.  
Recipes will yield poor quality potions if used without sufficent Alchemy Skill

When the merchant said it was his oldest one, Crane thought he meant the first one he got, like a basic beginner book, but he gave Crane a the oldest book he had that contained ancient recipes with powerful effects. Crane's trick had worked far better than he hoped, a mere 200G for this book and the skill to use it was a bargain.

Crane saw a thick dwarf sitting on a chair in front of the blacksmith shop. Crane had seen him before, and timed his arrival with the time the Dwarf usually used to take a break. Crane not only needed his sword repaired, he decided he needed to learn the repair skill for himself. However even though the repair skill was far more common than alchemy, learning it from this dwarf would be a greater challenge. Crane walked up to him and said, "Great blacksmith Oralast, I ask of you something only your great dwarven skills can accomplish."

The dwarve's eyes moved to Crane and he said in a low voice, "Speak."

"I am a soldier of Yarsan who wishes to learn how to repair equipment so my fellow warriors can always be ready for battle. My captain recommended I learn from an Elven Blacksmith he favors. But I know that dwarves are superior to elves in this field and have come against my captain's wishes to learn from the greatest blacksmith in Yarsan." The dwarf's eyes widened a bit at the term 'Elven Blacksmith,' but he still needed another push. "I have brought many broken and battered weapons with me so that you could use them to better instruct me in repairing them. After I have repair them, I shall give them all to you as payment as well as 100G for your time." After the last comment, Oralast got up from his chair and said, "I see you got a fine fire in ya, you'll be welcomed by the hearth. Now get out that beaten equipment so I can show you why dwarves are superior to elves on the forge.

You have learned new Skill: Repair

Two hours and a hundred gold later Crane had a newly repaired sword and his repair skill hit level three. Crane considered that the skill would not raise that fast normally but under the supervision of a skilled dwarf he rose his proficiency faster than normal. Crane still hadn't gotten the skill, Throw, after practicing in the tunnel, so after thanking and paying him Crane bought a set of ten throwing knives for 35G and a small cauldron for 15G. Crane then went back to the grocer's and used the last of the coin he obtained to fill up on supplies and few ingredients to use for practice potions.

Almost two weeks after leaving, Crane returned to his army base to find Owens. "I have returned from the field sir."  
"And your timing couldn't've been better. I've received a report that there's a gang of criminals who've taken captive of the villagers of Surrol. That village is under our protection so we're sending in a combat force to negotiate or deal with the criminals and I want you on it.

Surrol Liberation  
The people of Surrol have been invaded by a criminal gang lead by a mysterious thief. Go with the military force to Surrol to save the villagers and if necessary kill the bandits.  
Difficulty: D

Reward- Dependent on Contribution to quest.

Crane was weary of this opportunity, if the quest's combat force could been assembled without him, why was he needed at all?  
"Sir, why do you want me to go?"  
"Because everyone else on that force in a backstabbin nobleman, and I don't trust them any further than I can throw them." Crane said," The noblemen are skill book using high level soldiers, what is their average level and what of the gang member's levels?"

Owens looked at Crane through narrow eyelids like he had just been asked questions he had not wanted to be. "The noblemen average level 110 and our intel places the gang members average level at 85. We don't know what there boss's level is."  
"Ok, I'll accept under one condition."  
Owen's eyes narrowed further, "What?"  
"Tell me how to use the finesse stat. I am stuck at only getting 50."  
He relaxed his posture with a look of relief and said, "Hmm, I've told you before that having the answer given to you retards you progress permanently, however, if you are stuck at fifty, then there is a hint I can give you, but accept the mission first."

"I'll go to Surrol to take care of the villagers."

You have accepted the quest.

"Now, you say you've gotten to 50 already, that's impressive for couples of weeks. But a fencer's routine is only half physical motion. That is probably the half you're getting right. The other half is mental. Ask yourself why routines were created in the first place and where the source of their power comes from."

Crane was relieved that he had not been doing the routines incorrectly, only incompletely. Now he just need to figure out the source of the routine's power and use it to figure out the mental aspect of the routines. But first he needed to join a band of sheltered brats and save a village from a group of criminals who could each probably kill him single handedly.

According to Owens, the group would leave at sundown. Crane had until then to practice his throwing skill on an archery target. Being able to throw ten knives before having to retrieve them shortened his learning time and he was getting use to throwing at different distances.

Crane stood with a knife in hand 40 feet from the target, he raised his hand behind his shoulder and held his breath. After confirming the motion in his head, he forced out his breath in a shout, something he learned increased muscle strength for a moment, and let his hand fly over his shoulder with a moderate wrist movement to control the spin. The blade missed the target.

Crane took a couple steps forward and one to the left. He had been practicing throwing at varying distances and angles and even added a shout to his throw since leaving the dungeon. It was something he read martial artists did and he thought it would be cool to practice. Crane took another dagger out and threw it with a "HA."  
It hit a few inches off the center, but Crane was pleased with his progress. He took several steps to the right and a few back and threw his last knife from the set with another shout. After the sound of it striking the target was heard, two messages popped up.

You have learned new Skill: Throw

You have learned new Skill: Shout

Crane started laughing hysterically. Today had been a good day. He brought up his skill window to see how profitable it had been.

Alchemy [1] 0% Enables you to create potent potions from various ingredients

Repair [3] 7% Enables you to repair weapons and armors. Beyond Lv. 10, you can forge new weapons and gears.

Throw [1] 0% You can throw objects and weapons further and more accurately

Shout [1] 0% Increases strength for an instant while shouting.  
Mana Cost: 5  
STR +3% for an instant

The shout skill was unexpected but welcomed, it seemed that the timing required to learn shout was easier for him to learn than the accuracy required to learn throw.

Besides the ten knife set he purchased, Crane had one last knife from the Burrower's loot. He pulled it out and threw it at the target with a shout. The blade moved faster than they usually did and stuck itself a few inches into the center of the target. Crane dug it out and retrieved his other knives before heading to the meeting place of the combat force.

He arrived about half an hour before sundown and sized up the group. Only half of them were there but each of them had high class equipment Crane judged had requirements right at their level, making them as strong as they could be. Another pair walked through the door followed by Barrows, in equipment Crane recognized had a level 120 minimum requirement and some rare shoes that increased movement speed. Crane wanted to say something but Barrows ignored his existence. One more member came through the room and Barrows started speaking, "The leader of this force, Captain Dessan, informed me we will meet him at his camp by the village of Surrol. You are all expected to bring your own supplies. We move out now."

Short and to the point, Barrows seemed to act this way to everyone, not just him. But although Barrows met everyone's eyes as he spoke, he looked through Crane like an empty seat. This reminded Crane that Barrows and every person in that room other than himself was a member of nobility and thought poorly of Crane. The soldiers flowed out of the room followed by Crane.

The entire atmosphere of the meeting ruined his good mood from earlier. To these people Crane was less than nothing. He was an unwanted source of competition for the reputation that individual achievement gained on the quest. Crane decided it would be best to keep his mouth shut and remain as small as possible until he returned to the base.

From there it only went downhill. After Barrows passes the city gates he started running as did the entire combat force. Running wouldn't be a problem for an average person, but Crane hadn't actually done any long term running in several years. It didn't long for them to lose Crane, and after three hours of running he was alone. However Crane had long since memorized the geography of Kallamore from books and could find his way without help.

He ran until his chest burned and his legs ached but still did not see them and ran some more. After another hour a message appeared.

Your Stamina has fallen, you can run no further

Crane was breathing heavily and barely moving forward. Crane sat down and took a look at the sky. Even though he was abandoned, tired and cold, he still smiled after he looked up. The night sky was filled with shining stars. Crane reached his hand into the air and felt like he could reach the sky. This couldn't be called a game. It wasn't real either. But he could feel the pain in his legs and the breeze on his face. Crane didn't know how long he stayed there, staring at the stars, but after he saw his stamina had fully returned, he got back on his feet and started running.

After four more days of running, he arrived close to Surrol. For all he knew the criminals had all been wiped out by that time, and the town was safe and happy. On the road to the town Crane saw a very large pair of weapon bearing men. "Ok, scratch that thought." Crane opened his inventory and re-equipped his started equipment before the men could see he was wearing an army uniform and helmet and walked towards them. Compared to the men, Crane was a young, skinny, poorly dressed, boy with a thin sword. Crane tried to walk while appearing as meekly as he could. As he closed in on them, one of the men said, "Halt, this road is closed, go another way."

Crane raised his hands like he was afraid of being beaten and said, "good sir, the next road over is a full day longer by foot, if I may ask, how long until this road reopens?" The guards looked at each other and started chuckling. "Heh, by sundown tomorrow, everything will be taken care of." Crane nodded and left back down the road. A few hundred feet down the road Crane saw another pair of men, these ones he recognized. The two soldiers from the combat force glared at him and motioned for Crane to follow them. He figured that there were people posted at both the north and south exit to ascertain how many people came and went from the village.

Crane was lead to a small camp outside the village where all but two members of the combat force were located. One of the men escorting him went to a man Crane had not seen before while the other stayed with Crane. The unknown man walked up to Crane and said, "I am Captain Dessan. I wasn't sure that you would make it here. I am sorry you wasted your trip, but you are not needed and may return to the city."

Crane said, "I beg your pardon Captain, but I cannot do as you ask."

Dessen replied with a dangerous look in his eye, "Is that so?"

"Yessir, my instructor Owens told me he would reward me with a skill book depending on how I contribute to the quest. I know I am weak, but I will carry my own weight."

Crane could hear Dessen mutter the word 'Owens,' along with some profanity before saying, "Carry your own weight can you? Let me see your sword."

Crane could not defy the order of his rightful commanding officer and handed Dessen his rapier by the hilt. Dessen gripped the sword hard before saying, "Barrows."

Barrows slashed his sword through the space between Crane and Dessen where Crane's rapier was. The blade of the Rapier had snapped off in what Crane believed to be the skill Power Break. Dessen dropped the bladeless handle and said, "It is dangerous to carry a damaged sword into combat, it could snap at any time and leave you defenseless. How can you carry your own weight if you don't even have a proper sword?"

Crane's willpower was just barely keeping him from assaulting a man who was likely twice his level. Crane's sword had not been used since brought back to full durability by the blacksmith Oralast. Barrows sword was stronger, his level higher, and if Crane was correct had used Power Break. Crane bent down to pick up his sword when Dessen said, "Get yourself back to the city to fix that up, you can return after that but everything here will have concluded by then." Crane found the broken blade and walked out of the camp. Just before he left, Dessen said, "Don't forget to thank Barrows for demonstrating the danger you faced here. He did save your life." Crane walked out saying nothing, but at his back he could hear laughing.

Crane started running away from the camp in the direction of the city without looking back. After two hours of running he stopped. Crane figured Dessen would sent scouts after Crane to ensure he was heading home, but they would've turned back by now. Crane took out the broken sword and said "Repair"

Could not be restored to full durability with current skills  
Maximum Durability has been lost

Light Rapier:  
Durability 50/71  
Damage- 10~12  
A fine rapier made of quality iron. The back of the blade was made with a stronger iron, making it more durable  
Options: +5 AGI  
Requirements  
STR 50

Crane hated Dessen for what he had done but was relieved the attack on his sword had not dropped, even if the max durability had. He was at least glad he had his helmet inside his inventory, or Dessen may have made an excuse to take it away. Crane need to figure out what Dessen did not want Crane around for and if it had anything to do with the sundown tomorrow deadline he had been told the road to the village would be closed till. Crane needed more information but had limited resources, he needed more options. Crane needed to clear his mind, so he did something that always did the trick. He took out a book and begun to read.

Potent Recipes of Kallamore was the only thing he had, but maybe something there could give him an idea. The book contained recipes for ancient elixirs and poisons, but he needed a high level Alchemy skill to make them successfully. The ingredients he had could make only make health potions. However the book contained recipes that used wild herbs that grew in Kallamore Kingdom, the grasslands he was now in. Crane's ingredients could be combined with certain plants that grew in the area to make poisons. However Crane only had the name of the missing ingredients, he did not know what they looked like. At that point Crane started to search the grasslands for herbs and use identify on each one he found. It was a long shot but if he could find something to make a poison, he may have been able to stand a chance.

At about the time the sun rose, Crane was reasonably depressed. He had found some plants he could use to make a decent poison, but he failed to extract them, destroying the usability in the process. The only herb Crane had successfully harvested was a paralytic ingredient. And it seemed that because they were poorly extracted, they were of the lowest grade in quality. Crane was running out of time and used all the herbs he collected to make the paralytic poison in his cauldron. He managed to fill a single bottle. "Identify."

Simple potion of paralysis  
The ingredients are of low quality but created by someone with skill  
Paralysis for 3~10 seconds

The potion came out pretty bad but it was the best he could do and it did give him more options he did not have before.

Both criminal guards and Dessen's scouts would be watching the north and south entrances to the village and Dessen was camped on the west side, so Crane went a long way around to the east side of the village before making his approach. He did his best to approach unnoticed, but doing so was slow and it took four hours before Crane could see the outskirts of the town. Crane saw a single guard leaning on a rock looking out over the landscape. Before entering Crane would half to deal with him. Crane moved to the backside of the rock, where the guard could not see and took out a knife and potion. Crane poured the potion over the knife, and knelt down to pick up a rock. Crane threw the small rock hard at the back end of the rock the guard was leaning against, making a loud noise. Crane stayed perfectly motionless, knife in hand, as the guard circled to the back of the rock. Crane threw the knife at the man, and before confirming the hit, used dash to shorten the distance between the two. The knife hit his arm, but before he could raise his weapon, he froze in place. Crane shouted and used power lunge, combining his shout, dash, and lunge to a single strengthen attack. However the guard was not dead yet, Crane did not know when the man would recover so he took his majestic stance, 50!, shouted at the top of his lungs, and used Flurry. After three seconds of Flurry the man finally dissolved, leaving behind his armor. Crane had an idea.

Crane, now dressed in the guard's armor entered the village, trying to attract as little attention as possible. Crane found his way to the largest building in the village, where in front of it he saw two men talking. Crane hid next to the wall and listened in on the conversation.

"If the ransom isn't delivered by sundown, we get to kill every person in the village."

"I almost wish they don't pay, there are so many women here I want to make dead."

"Don't even talk like that, between this lot and my shared of 50,000 gold, I'd rather have the gold."

"But we were told a man called Dessen would bring us the ransom by now, where is he?"

Crane saw another man approaching so he quickly left. He found a broken down home and risked opening the door. He saw no one inside and decided here would be an ok spot to stop and plan. Crane had read of many such scenarios and it sounded like one of two things were happening. Dessen and his troops were given orders to kill the criminals and save the village folks held hostage. However if that were true he would have no reason to reject Crane's help, meaning it would be the second possibility. Dessen was given 50,000 gold to pay the criminals, he will wait until the deadline had passed and the criminals have killed all the villagers. Dessen and his combat force will then kill the criminals. He would likely report that the criminals killed the villagers after getting the ransom, he killed them in retaliation but did not recover the 50,000 gold. He would get the reputation for killing the awful criminals who slaughtered innocents and 50,000 gold as well.

Crane had to do something but he had no more paralysis potion, and even if he did, he could not kill the entire criminal gang by himself. Nothing had changed from before. Crane needed an army of his own to free the villagers. Crane raised his head as an epiphany struck him, he did have an army, they just didn't know it yet.

Crane took off the guard's uniform and hid it inside the house after re-equipping his military uniform. The bandit's was better than his uniform but Crane didn't want the criminals to find it while searching him and discover he killed one of their own. Crane exited the house and walked towards the center of town. He was surrounded by the criminals in less than a minute.

"Take me to your leader."

Like all sane people in the world, he had always wanted to say that, but a man replied, "Why shouldn't we kill you right now?"

"Because I got here somehow, and whoever is in charge will want to hear what I have to say." Crane was taken to a empty house where he was under a two man guard until the door opened revealing a slender halfling in what Crane recognized to be a thief's upper level choice clothing. "Hello, my name is Tensford, and I am told you have something I'll want to hear." Crane remembered that the halfling race is not native to Kallamore kingdom, meaning the leader of these bandits was a user.

"Captain Dessen is in a camp to the west of here with your 50,000 gold. But he won't be sharing it with you. As long as there are no survivors, whatever he says happened here is what everyone will believe. After you have killed everyone to make a point that your demands are to be met, Dessen's soldiers will kill everyone one you."

Tensford's face remained neutral as he removed his dagger and shined sun's light at Crane with the blade. "And why should I believe you?" Everything Crane had said could not be proven, his only choice was to make a leap of faith and trust his intuition. "Because you are being used by Dessen's employer." Tenford's eyes widened for just a moment. "You were given a quest by someone to ransom the villagers here for 50,000 gold. Not the person who gave you the quest, but the person who hired them, used their influence to ensure that Dessen and some spoiled noblemen would be the ones to deliver the ransom. After you are dead Dessen will deliver the 50,000 gold to that person himself. Though the nature of that deal is unknown to me."

Tensford's eyes noticeably twitched. He raised his dagger and stabbed it with all his force into the table. "If what you say is true, what do you propose?" As Crane thought this person was a user, though whether or not he knew that the Kallamore Warrior Crane was one as well was still a mystery.

Crane looked up at Tensford and smiled. "How high is your pickpocket skill?"

Crane watch the horizon from the roof of a house to see the last bit of the sun vanish. Dessen would arrive in the village shortly to kill the criminals, and Crane didn't want to miss the show. Dessen and his men could be seen heading for the village, but what they found left them speechless. The villagers were set free and noticed the arrival of the the combat force. They rushed to them with open arms shouting, "Thank You nobleman of Yarsan," and "You have saved us." The villagers came right up to the people and actually hugged them. Crane smiled from above as Barrows got a nice big hug and looked very uncomfortable. A man came up to Dessen but before he could get close Dessen raised his sword. The people who had been close to the soldiers backed away at his gesture but the man continued towards Dessen. The Captain extended his sword in a very threatening manner, but the man stopped and said, "I am the village elder. I was told you are Captain Dessen, and you are responsible for paying our ransom. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you."

Dessen looked incredibly uncomfortable, his plan required the villager to be killed by the criminals, he could not kill them himself and get away with it because the criminals were still out there. And there was the manner of the paid ransom. Dessen turned his head slowly to Barrows. Barrows moved his hand in the air, an indication he was looking through his inventory. Barrows said nothing but his face went white. Dessen narrowed his eyes and gave Barrows a look that could kill. He put on a calm mask and asked the village elder, "Told by who?"

Crane slowly got off the roof so as not to be noticed and Dashed to the the southern end of the village, where he saw the man who had given a hug to Barrows.

Tensford asked, "How did you know that it was the man called Barrows, and not Dessen himself or any other member of his unit that was holding onto the 50,000 gold? From what you told me you could not have known who Dessen trusted enough to hold onto the money for him.

Crane let another smile slip and said, "The shoes. Each of those guys had expensive, high quality shoes focused on defense, but only Barrows had shoes that enhanced movement speed instead of defense. If everything went to hell the guy with the money had to be able to make it out. I confirmed this when I saw the Dessen had on normal shoes as well."

Tensford let out another laugh and said. "Well, now I get to decided whether or not to kill you. You have helped us and if you were apart of my gang you would receive a fair cut, but you are not. You are young, but you have proven yourself formidable. It just so happens that one of my men was killed and we have an opening. Would you like to join my gang?"

You have received an offer to join a criminal gang!

If you accept it, your post as a infantryman of Kallamore will be abandoned and you will be charged with desertion. You are entitled to receive training in criminal skills. Your infamy will raise with each successful crime, and you position shall rise with your infamy. You will receive your cut of the ransom, 15,000 gold.

It sounded like Tensford knew that Crane had killed him but was fine with it because it proved he had the skills to do so. The idea of abandoning the city to live the life of crime sounded fun, and Crane would be able to learn skills like pickpocket and lockpicking, but Crane got more fun from being the hero than the villain. That and he would incur strict penalties and be unable to leave his class if he left the Royal Kallamore Army. "I thank you for your offer. But that isn't the kind of person I am."

You have rejected the offer.

Tensford frowned and said. "Then we have a problem. You know my face and are not under my command. I think I may have to kill you."

Crane nodded and said, "Yes, I understand you have to protect your interests. But there is a way I can join you without becoming a criminal."

Criminals get money by performing crimes, but most of the income from a professional criminal comes from contract work. The trick to hiring a criminal is knowing where to look, so criminal organizations often posed as legitimate guilds. The only way to learn of which guild was a so-called dark guild was by referral, making them all but untraceable. However if every member of a gang was apart of the guild, word about which guilds were secretly dens of criminals would get out quick. But the User leader of a criminal gang was almost always guaranteed to be a dark guild member. However although most guilds are run by NPCs, since the starting of the game only Users could join a guild.

At Crane's implication Tensford narrowed his eyes and said, "Wait, you're a user? User's can't join the army of Kallamore."

"I can prove it, would you like to be friends?"

And once again another round of laughter from Tensford, he even said, "sure."

Tensford has been added to your friend list.

Only users could be added and Crane had spent two months in an empty library and two months in an NPC only army base. He had met few if any users in Royal Road and this was his first request.

Tensford said, "Alright then, but as for your request, I don't have that authority. I'll tell them you're interested of course, but no promises." Leaving it at that, Tensford walked away.


	7. Vol1 Chapter7 Allies and Enemies

Chapter 7

Allies and enemies

Crane ran to the north of Yarsan and waited on the road for two days. He doubted he could make it back to Yarsan before Dessen's men, and he had a distinct feeling that they would be waiting for him to get revenge. Crane had to get back into the city without running into them so he waited for a caravan like the one he saw on his first day in royal road. Crane hid in the tail end and followed it all the way to Yarsan. Once again after it entered the gates it split into a big group that continued into the Central ring and a small group that went to the shopping district. This time Crane followed the large group since it was the same direction as the base. However to Crane's surprise, the caravan continued from the Central ring into the base. Crane showed his military pass at the gate and said,  
"Where do all those supplies go?"

The guard answered, "To the top, there is a passage from the base to the top of the cliff where the nobles live, all these supplies go to them."

Crane continued into the base and found his way to Owens' study.  
"Reporting back sir, the people of Surrol are all safe."

Owens glanced at him and said, "Those nobleman are looking for you, they said they cannot file the incident report until you are found, the higher ups have commanded that you be brought to them immediately upon your return. Why would they need you before they can turn in their report?"

"That doesn't mean I cannot turn in my own report. I have it here and a few copies you can hand out to the commanders and anyone who asks for it, all the details are inside."

Crane handed Owen the stack of identical folders he had spent a few hours writing while he waited for the caravan. Owen took his time reading the report thoroughly and said, "I can't believe it, is this really what happened?"

Crane answered, "Please hand those out to the higher ups sooner rather than later."

Owens nodded and said, "Very well, dismissed."

Ding*

Quest Completed: Surrol Liberation  
The people of Surrol are safe without a single casualty  
Reward: Nothing

You have leveled up  
You have leveled up

Crane gained two levels for completing a D ranked mission but nothing else. This quest reward was based off contributions measured by the infamy of the criminals he killed. Now Crane knew why Tensford wasn't upset that Crane killed one of his men, the poor guy must've been a small fry with little to no infamy.

Crane distributed his stats entirely to Vitality. Since he couldn't add stats to Perseverance, the stat that determined stamina he added it to the next best thing. Hopefully next time he was running with a group of powerful warriors Crane didn't wouldn't to be left behind.

Crane had one more copy of his report in hand and walked to his room, where he saw Barrows in the hall with his sword drawn. He gave Crane a glare that said 'Don't test me,' and then said, "Come with me." Barrows lead Crane to another part of the base where he had never been before and into a large room. It looked like Owens' study but larger, and filled with more expensive items. From a shelf in the corner came Dessen, looking at Crane with the face of an ogre. He took the folder out of his hand and lifted Crane into the air by his collar and slammed him into a wall. "Where is my gold you lowborn foreigner?!"  
"With the criminals Captain, in exchange for the safe release the hostages of course."

Dessen slammed his back into the wall once more. This time was hard enough that Crane lost a quarter of his health. Dessen lifted the folder in his hand and said, "Now listen here, I am going to tell you what happened, and you are going to report that it happened, you understand me?"

"Yes Captain, I shall inform Owens that I must edit the reports I gave him."

Dessen's eye's grew if possible, darker, and said, "Edit? You have turned in a report?!"

"Yes Captain, I made several copies as well and gave them to my commander Owens when I returned. He said he will give the copies out for me, so I returned to my room with my last copy."

Dessen looked at Barrows and said, "He already saw Owens?!"

Barrows turned to avoid eye contact, the shame clear in his features. Dessen pressed Crane against the wall again, threw him at the floor of his office, and opened up the folder. Crane could see his eyes widen and narrow as he read over the file. He must've been more surprised by its contents than Owens was. Crane made a report that did not include a single thing Dessen had done or planed to do.

Quest Report by Crane  
Made camp west of Turrol  
Captain Dessen went over plan  
Two hours before sundown Barrows given ransom money.  
Ordered to give to gang leader  
I ordered to go with him  
Captain stationed men at edge of village for immediate response in case mission went south  
Barrows met with leader and I was taken to where villagers kept  
Barrows gave money to leader, returned to Captain  
I helped with release of prisoners, and informed them of who they were saved by  
Captain and his men watched criminals leave village to make sure they did not go back on their word  
After sundown Captain returned to Turrol where he met the village elder who expressed his deepest gratitude.

According to the report, Dessen gave the criminals the gold as he was ordered to, but did nothing special. For this he would receive nothing but experience, just like Crane had. If Dessen's plan had gone through, the criminals would have killed the villagers, increased their own infamy, which in turn would increase the fame the Captain and his men would obtain from killing them. Although this report did not incriminate him, it did nothing for him either.  
Dessen walked over to Crane who had stood up since Dessen began reading and grabbed him by the hair. "You have made some powerful enemies, you will pay for this."

At that moment a large amount of bells started to ring throughout the base. Dessen looked around to see the source of the noise. A bell in the corner of his room with a string attached to it through the wall was swinging back and forth. Dessen threw Crane out his door by Crane's hair and slammed it shut. The bells in the hallway and likely in every single room in the base were ringing. Crane had seen them before, but never saw them in use. He ran to Owen's room, and met him as he was coming out the door. "Sir, what is going on?" "An army must've been spotted heading to Yarsan, we're heading to battle, get ready, you're expected on the front lines."

Defend Yarsan

An army is heading for Yarsan, fight with the soldiers of Yarsan against the enemy.  
Difficulty: Unknown  
Cannot refuse quest if a member of Yarsan Army  
Reward based on contribution to victory  
Quest fails if Yarsan falls

Crane headed out to the west edge of the Central ring to see the Mural of Magni. There was a long line of soldiers going up the stairs, and Crane actually saw that at the entrance to the stairs leading to the viewing platform was a priest with a collection box. Crane didn't have time to stand in line or pay a 'donation,' so he went under the platform and climbed the scaffolding. He looked out over the courtyard.

You have seen the Mural of Magni

Strength +15  
Stamina +15  
Vitality +15  
Fighting Spirit + 15  
For a day

The first time Crane had seen the mural he did not have fighting spirit so he did not receive a bonus from it. He climbed back down and ran for the gate. Along the way he could see shops and buildings closing up their windows and barring their doors. Crane passed the outer city wall, where he saw a hundred of archers stationed.

Crane was not apart of any specific unit. He was told he had transferred to Owens' unit, but he later discovered that the finesse skill was exceptionally rare, and his fellow would-be fencers had all been sent out by Owen on quests, just like Owens had been doing to him. Crane may have been the only warrior in the entire battlefront with the finesse stat, but that did not matter. Crane decided that no unit meant no limits, meaning he could fight however he wanted. This was going to be his first large scale conflict, and he wanted to enjoy it.

But there was something else Crane had to do. He had only been in a single fight since Owens told him the hint to finesse and he did not try it out then. There was still time till whatever army was coming had arrived and Crane needed to figure out the source of power behind finesse, and how it related to the mental half of routines. Why did routines make a fencer stronger. Crane had tried several times to remember what he had done in the Burrower's lair that lead him to get an finesse stat of 75, but he was in a different frame of mind then, and couldn't remember what happened. Crane was convinced that if he could experience a difficult battle he could relive that moment and remember what happened.

A dust cloud was rising at the distance and heading for Yarsan, Crane could not yet see the enemy, but knew they won't be there in minutes. Dust doesn't come up when walking, only running. As they got closer, Crane realized they were not human.

According to the history of Yarsan, 250 years after Yarsan's founding, an enemy emerged from over the mountains. Where they came from no one knew, but they came over and over, year after year, the Ekril. The Ekril was a tall, long limbed humanoid race with thin brown hair covering their bodies. Soldiers commented that each Ekril shaved off sections and patterns of their hair, giving each one unique tattoo like hair patterns that covered them from head to toe. The Ekril's most potent natural aspect was their high resistance to magic. The Ekril's constant attacks lead to the building of the Yarsan Army and the eventual fall of the High Sorcerer family that once ruled. In the years since then the attacks steadily increased in frequency.

Crane went over every report of the Ekril he had read.  
Ekril come in three general classes, warrior, beastmaster, and blood shaman. The warriors could use spears, swords, and hand axes, using their longer limbs to attack with greater reach. The beast masters tamed the monsters of the lands, somehow bending them to their will and fighting alongside them. Blood shamans, like all Ekril have no mana. So they use magic that requires the caster's blood instead of mana. They carry knives they use to cut their own arms and flick the blood. The blood disappears when the shaman chants and a spell comes forth.

Crane heard the loud creak of the massive fortress doors close behind him. Captain Elestas raised her sword and charged forward. Her knight unit followed her and the rest of the army followed them. Crane drew his sword and calmed his mind.

He wanted to run forward with the rest of them, but he had no idea how to fight in a battle like this. So he calmly walked forward while looking for places he could fight and not get in the way. His chance came earlier than he thought, the crowd in front of him was pushed away, by a charging rhino looking monster ridden by an Ekril. Crane took out a knife, steadied his hand, and with a shout he threw it right at the rhino's face, just missing the eye. The monster roared but moved forward, only his aim was adjusted to charge right into Crane. Crane took a stance and looked the Ekril right in his eye as he came within a few feet of him. Crane knew he had already won, when the rhino was only two feet away Crane used Noble step, 70! and quickly took a step out of the way and another step forward. He was at the rhino's side and shouted as he drove his sword into the rhino's hind leg. The rhino passed him and collapsed after taking another step. Crane turned around to see the rider had already jumped at Crane before his mount hit the ground. Crane rolled forward under the Ekril before he was chopped by the Beastmaster's axe. Crane had another moment before the next attack so he made a motion with sword and held it in front of his face, 50! The Ekril let out another attack which Crane caught with his Regal Guard and parried to the side, leaving the Ekril open to Crane's Flurry attack. After several hits the Ekril slashed at Crane. Using Flurry left him open as well, preventing him from dodging it and taking damage. Crane survived the blow but saw that the Ekril was not looking at him, but past him. Crane's instincts screamed as he jumped to the side just as the rhino charged from behind.

Crane's opponent fought at his beast's side making it two on one. He was likely going to be killed. Crane smiled, that kind of thing didn't matter, he knew he should fight like he had already won. From his majestic stance, Crane launched into a dash power lunge while shouting at the Rhino. 75! The lunge was aimed for the tip of the knife sticking out of the rhino's face. Due to the high finesse of the stance, Crane's time was slowed down enough to guide the tip of his blade to the knife, then slide the tip down the knife through the penetrated skin into the wound.

-Critical Hit!

-You have leveled up

-Skill Level Up: Sword Mastery. You sword mastery has reached intermediate level. You gain an additional 50% attack when using a sword

The rhino dissolved around crane's sword, the Ekril looked stunned. He must've thought Crane would attack him first, not his mount. Crane did not let the opportunity go to waste, "Twelve forms, HAA!" Crane let loose a barrage of sword attacks against the Ekril who started barely defending himself. Crane's level 9 sword mastery which once provided +90% attack and +27% attack speed leveled up with an additional +50% attack, making it +150% Attack and +30% attack speed. The Ekril couldn't keep up with the onslaught and finally died.

Crane looked around assessing the battlefield. The Ekril had broken through at several points. There was a massive number of Ekril foot soldiers fighting Kallamore Infantryman in front of the main gate. Crane walked over to them while going over the fight he just had. He remembered that when he fought the bugs, he had imagined victory before the battle. In two out of three times in the last fight he had done the same, and broke the 50 finesse barrier. That was the mental half of routines, or at least a part of it. The act of performing the routine must cement the image that you will be victorious before the battle begins. A group of three Ekril spotted Crane and started running at the lone swordsman. Crane imagined cutting each of their bodies a thousand times before they struck him once and performed Majestic Stance.

After ten hours of conflict Crane had found himself fighting alongside a group of kallamore warriors, two priests of Magni, and a very large great axe wielding Barbarian who kept the Ekril from the city gates. Crane set up a rotation system where several soldier fought in front of the barbarian, killing most the ekril that made it through the wall of infantrymen ahead of them. And when they ran low on health, mana or stamina they switch with the people behind the Barbarian who were being healed by the priest or recovering from fatigue. The barbarian acted as a last defense wall that prevented ekril who made it past the warriors from getting to the injured behind him. Crane had a larger than average supply of mana and of stamina from his leveling up earlier, and he choose to fight on when he had very low health because it eventually increased his fighting spirit stat. He fought like a madman using fast accurate movements to take on up to three ekril at once, only returning to the back to recover when his mana ran dry. He made a mental note to gather lots of ingredients to make a lot of mana potions later so he wouldn't have to wait to recover in situations like this. However Crane was the only one of the warriors capable of combat on that scale. Almost half of the Ekril who fought the warriors when Crane was recovering made it past them to be taken out in a single strike by the massive barbarian. Crane got up when his mana fully recovered and walked back to the front. As he passed, the barbarian said, "You sure you wanna get up? I haven't even gotten to stretch yet." Crane said, "neither have I," and went back to slaying the ekril. From the back emerged a hooded ekril Crane recognized as a blood shaman. They usually did not make it past the army, so this would be Crane's first encounter. Actually Crane realized this would be his first fight against anyone who could use magic. Crane motions for the warriors behind him to stay there as he walked forward to meet the shaman. Crane took his stance and waited for the shaman to walked within range of his dash powered lunge. Instead he stopped and in a smooth motion, drew a small knife, cut his forearm and flicked it in front of him while muttering something. Crane realized his mistake and used noble step to aviod a column of fire that ruptured from the ground he was just standing on.

-You have been burned, your health will slowly decline.

He had not escaped the pillar entirely and got a burn to go with the massive damage he took. Crane dashed to him and saw him make another motion with his knife and a green fog appeared around him. Crane stopped before going into it and pulled out his knives. He wouldn't be able to recover them after this, but he threw them them one at a time onto the cloud until he heard a his target make a painful sound. Crane then threw his remaining knives at him, each with a shout powered throw.

Skill Level up: Throw [2]  
Skill Level up: Shout [4]

Crane had been shouting a lot more this battle than throwing but it was still sastifying to see them rise up together. The fog lifted and revealed the ekril. He had four knives stuck in his body and was bleeding badly. The blood shaman smile, as Crane felt the chill of death envelop him. The Ekril shouted in a strange tongue and started to glow, Crane saw something in the corner of his eye pass in front of him just as the shaman exploded in a massive light.

Even shielded the shockwave threw him to his back. When he opened his eyes again he saw the barbarian in front of him. The man seemed to have been badly damaged and said, "Careful, those guys tend to go out with a bang." A few more hits would likely kill the man which wasn't great due to the hole created by the explosion letting in dozens of Ekril warriors.

Crane stepped in front of him and said, "Switch, you go get yourself patched up and I'll hold things here." The barbarian wasn't in a position to argue and said, "I need you to hold them all for two minutes." Crane was surprised at how serious he sounded. He guessed the man had an excellent potion and said, "No problem." Crane faced the horde approaching and found it very difficult to imagine coming out alive. He silenced his mind and realized the true purpose of routines. A person cannot truly imagine victory over any outcome without practice. That was what a routine was. The movement was performed while imagining the victory, strengthened the bond between the movement and the image with use. Over time and with practice the routine's use would invoke the image of victory regardless of the circumstances. Crane willed it that the use of the routine would make him see victory. He performed the motions of Majestic stance and imagined slicing through the entire army in a matter of seconds. 95! Crane used dash, moving faster than he ever had moved before right into the Ekril hord and started up continuous use of twelve forms. Even the kalamore warriors who fought beside him watched from the rear in amazement at the speed, power, and accuracy of Crane's movements. Crane never stopped in a single place but moved through the entire group seeming to be at battle with the whole thing simultaneously. The group could not advance forwards because they would immediately be attacked from behinds if they did. Several died but Crane was receiving wounds left and right from the omnidirectional attacks he received.

The weakness of twelve forms as a skill was it's lack of dodging motions. When he dodged an attack he could not parry it counted as stopping the skill which used up one movement boost from the routine. It did not take long for Crane to run out of the boost.

Crane's life was at a quarter when he dashed to the front of the horde and stood with his back to the area between him and the wall. He had successfully pissed them all off enough for them to prioritize skewering his head over passing him to the gate. Crane fought while parrying at least six frontal attacker and walking backwards to prevent them from getting his back. However his stalling tatics worked and the Barbarian came from behind killing the Ekril with each wave of sword until the hord started to run away. As the running Ekril passed the army a horn sounded and the rest of the army started to fall back.

Crane started to walk around the field collecting dropped items when the warriors behind him ran up to him and said, "That was amazing," and, " I can't believe anyone can move like that." They were praising him when the barbarian said, "That was impressive. I haven't seen someone so young fight so well in a long time. I don't believe I've introduced myself, I am Dairos Burq." The warriors around him gasped and Crane knew why. Diaros Burq was a famous NPC mercenary whose exploits were known throughout the continent. He was an expert on rare and secret dungeons, and a well known member of one of the most exclusive guilds on Versailles, the Dark Djinns. Crane wondered why a person such as this, a person who must've been at least level 200, would come to the outskirts of Kallamore Kingdom and take part in part in this battle. Even more so why he would stay in the rear as a guard when he could've been in the front killing hundreds of Ekril.

The great barbarian said, "You've shown that you have great potential, would you like to join the Dark Djinns?"

-You have received an invitation to join the guild Dark Djinns

Again, the warriors around Crane gasped, but Crane had made other arrangements. You can only join a single guild and Crane had made a promise to join the thief Tensford's guild. He was about to refuse when Crane saw Dairos tapping the hilt of a small knife he had on his side. It was identical to the Knife Tensford had. Dairos saw Crane looking at the knife and said, "I'm sure you were meant to join us." Crane nodded in understanding and said, "I would be honored to join."

You have accepted

You are now a member of the guild, Dark Djinns  
You have access to the guild's bases and resources

Now Crane knew why Darios was there. Crane had made it known to Tensford that he wanted to join his dark guild, but did not want to be a criminal. If Crane was a prospective member and a criminal then he would be invited in secret, but if he was outwardly righteous than he would be invited publicly and add to the good face of the guild. Crane found it ironic he never suspected a guild called Dark Djinns of being a Dark guild but that just went to prove how good the public face of the guild actually was.

Dairos passed a piece of paper to Crane and said, "Lets have a drink tomorrow. This is the address of a good bar."

Crane bowed and went back to collecting fallen loot.

Back at the base, Crane was called into a meeting with Owens.  
"Good job kid, I hear you really showed your stuff out there and did me proud."

Quest Completed: Defend Yarsan  
You gained 200 fame  
You gained 50 gold

- You have leveled up  
- You have leveled Up  
- You have leveled up  
- You have leveled up

Crane told Owens,  
"I only did what I was trained to sir, just like every soldier out there today."  
"Every soldier on that battlefield didn't have an audience of two hundred archers on the fortress walls watching his every sword swing. The entire city is talking about you. Fame for you is fame for the army and the higher ups have decided you will be promoted and get some lackeys of your own."

You have been promoted to the rank of officer.  
Your pay will increase to 3 gold a month  
You will be given command of 10 infantryman

Because of how good the army had been to him, he was eager to continue and get stronger. The Knights of Kallamore were known to be some of the strongest in the continent. The reason is because the cities within Kallamore were prone to almost constant attack by monsters and the soldiers became strong as steel fighting them off so often. Today Crane had gotten a little taste of that and had become considerably stronger. Crane thanked Owens and left the base. He withdrew the paper Dairos Burq gave him. As he thought it was an address to a house in the slums.

The next day Crane found his way to the address and knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal a young woman who gestured for Crane to come in. She lead him into the basement where Dairos and another woman waited for him. The hostess left and Crane waited as the woman next to Dairos sized him up.

"My name is Isse, and I am a senior member of the Dark Djinns. I was told of you by a mutual friend a few days ago and arrived in the city with my escort yesterday to investigate you. Not long after the battle started I got my hands on this." She waved a copy of Crane's report on the Liberation of Surrol and said, "Trust is not a simple thing, but after hearing about the situation from our mutual friend and reading this, I decided you were worth a look, and sent my escort to see if you were worth the trouble. You know the rest."

The fact that this woman, likely a user, had Dairos as a bodyguard told Crane a great deal about her. She continued, "So now that we have caught up to our present, we need to determine our future. Why did you ask to join our guild, the purveyor of dark wishes?"

Crane took in a breath and started. "Foresight. I am a good person who has done nothing wrong, in a sane world that isn't a bad thing. But in Versailles, that could severely limit me, I recognize that and when an opportunity came along that could remove that limit, I did not hesitate."

"So you don't want to do bad things but you don't want that to stop you from doing anything?... And here I thought someone who turned down fifteen thousand gold would be a little less greedy. Well I don't have a problem with that but I am going to need to see your credentials."

At this point Crane said, "What? Oh, credentials, Show stat and skill screen."

Status Window

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 92

Class- Kallamore Warrior

Title- None

Fame- 240

Health- 3840

Mana- 1840

Strength- 200+60

Agility- 205+66

Wisdom- 70+24

Intellect- 70+24

Vitality- 50+20

Luck- 0+10

Leadership- 0+10

Finesse- XX+10

Fighting Spirit- 28+15

Perseverance 34+14

Endurance- 40+18

Attack- 178

Defense- 63

+ All stats are added 10  
+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack  
+ Decreases Mana Consuption for Sword Skills by 50%  
+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse  
+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet  
+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helme

Skills Window

Identification [6] 92%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.  
Mana Cost: 30

Sword Mastery Intermediate [2] 12%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords.  
+170% ATK +36% ATK SPD while using a sword.

Twelve Forms [8] 3%: Increases attack power and speed of attack while fighting using the twelve forms.  
+80% STR +80% AGI  
Mana Cost: 10 per second

Flurry [4] 78%: Rapid series of thrusts  
5 thrusts per second  
Mana Cost: 30 per second

Dash [5] 32%: Move a great distance in a single step  
Mana Cost: 10

Power Lunge [5] 43%: A strengthen piercing attack that covers some distance  
Mana Cost: 45

Soa's Routine [4] 31%

Majestic Stance- Increases attack strength and speed of techniques performed after stance used  
-Attack Str and Spd +40% for 4 techniques after use  
Mana Cost: 20

Regal Guard- Increase defense and chance of successful parry after use  
-Defense +20 Luck +40  
Mana Cost: 30

Noble Step- Increase movement speed to dodge oncoming attack after use  
-Movement speed +80% for 3 steps after use  
Mana Cost: 15

All effects are multiplied by Finesse stat/97

Alchemy [1] 6% Enables you to create potions from ingredients

Repair [3] 12% Enables you to repair weapons and armors. Beyond Lv. 10, you can forge new weapons and gears.

Throw [2] 4% You can throw objects and weapons further and more accurately

Shout [4] 3% Increases strength for an instant while shouting.  
STR +12% for an instant  
Mana Cost: 5

From what Crane could tell, the average Ekril warrior was between level 80 and 120, and he had fought hundreds of them for hours and hours. After leveling he distributed his stats to what he felt he need more of during the battle. He gave 10 points each to INT for mana and WIS for faster mana regeneration. He had already given 20 points to Vitality so he distributed what was left between STR and AGI. He had also taken every powerful hit he could survive willingly to strengthen his endurance and he spent at least a fifth of his time fighting with less than 8% of his health against multiple opponents, strengthening his Fighting Spirit.

Isse looked at his stats and skills for while and said, "You definitely have some potential. I've heard of only three fighters who used finesse in my time and from what Dairos tells me you trump them all."

Now Crane was curious, so he asked, "what was wrong with them?"

She sighed and said, "Apparently they were told in detailed how to use finesse instead of figuring it out for themselves, that it seems crippled them for some reason and the could never use more than half their skill."  
Crane understood, if one was simply told it basically works by conditioning yourself to think positively they would never believe it and without the belief they only had the form.

She started up again, "One last question, how far would you be willing to go for the guild."

Crane had already decided, "As far as you need me to. That being said I will do what I can to make myself more valuable to you as someone who doesn't have a bounty on his head."

Isse smiled and said, "Ok, it's official, you're in. This house serves as our secret base in Yarsan and you can use any empty room if you need it." She got up and left for the stairs, Dairos stayed behind and said, "I heard about what you did to those nobleman, Isse said I was sent to watch you but the truth is I was sent to protect you. Along with that folder, Isse found out plans were being made to eliminate you. Be careful out there."

Crane went back to the army base and wondered how they were going to kill him. Crane found it amusing himself because he was the only member of the Royal Kallamore Army who was a user, therefore the only one who couldn't be killed permanently. Whatever they had planned would be interesting to see, but it would be useless in the long run. Crane mildly looked forward to it as another adventure.


	8. Vol1 Chapter8 Into the Spider's Web

Chapter 8

Into the spider's web

When Crane returned, Owens was waiting for him with a package.  
"You get promoted, you get a new uniform, here ya go kid."

Crane opened the package and said, "Identify"

Officer's Uniform  
Durability 60/60  
Defense 28  
Steel half plate with quality leather. Printed with the insignia of the army of Yarsan.  
Requirements:  
Officer in the Yarsan Army

Officer's boots  
Durability 30/30  
Defense 7

Requirements:  
Officer in the Yarsan Army

Crane's new equipment was as far above his old as the stars were above the earth. The only problem he had with it was that it would be harder to raise his endurance. Crane toyed with the idea of making time to fight while armorless to make up for it.

After he equipped it Owens said, "A couple more levels and you'll be able to become a fencer. You've already surpasses me in finesse mastery and will probably become the most powerful swordsman in Kallamore. After you get the class you'll be able create routines with effects as powerful as your own mind. I regret I can't do it but I'd bet you'll have no trouble creating routines that increase health and mana regeneration speed, add elemental attributes to your attacks, and more. I once heard that the greatest fencer on Versailles created a long and complex routine that summoned a god to fight at his side. Just don't forget the little people like me when you're all the way at the top."  
Crane couldn't help but laugh at the Owens calling himself a little person. He was obviously overstating the facts to make fun of him but it was still funny. "Sir I won't be anywhere near your strength for a long time, and in the small chance I exceed it I will never forget you. Besides, no matter how powerful I become, I still could never take on a Kallamore Knight."

"Only while their on their high horse, take them off said horse and they'll be easy pickings, I'm sure you'll figure out a way to do it, anyways, your subbies are waiting for you outside. You've been assigned your first group quest by the higher ups to see what kind of Officer you'll turn out to be."

"What's the quest?"

"There is a canyon south of the plateau the is the source of rag spiders. Every once in awhile we send a group that needs experience there to kill everything."

"How difficult is it?"

"The spiders are level between 40 around the outskirts to 60 inside with the queen being about level 90. You could clear the whole place in a month on your own but you were assigned the quest as an opportunity to strengthen your troop."

Into the spider's canyon  
Kill rag spiders in the canyon while strengthening you infantry  
Difficulty: D

Reward:  
Based on how much stronger your men become

Crane had read up on the local wildlife and knew that while some rag spiders had a poisonous bite, most had a paralyzing bite that would make you drop like a rag doll. That was the reason they were called rag spiders.

"Sir, will we be supplied?"

"Yup, you'll be given a stock of fifty all purpose antidotes."

"Then sign us up"

-You accepted the quest

-Received 50 All purpose antidotes

Crane let out a sigh of relief. Going into a spider nest without antidotes would make it a very short trip and Crane didn't want to spend his own money on them or on the ingredient to make them himself. Not that he didn't want to practice, it is just that he wanted to use his money to buy ingredients for health and mana potions.

Crane went outside to see a group of what he supposed were green recruits. They all looked like that had some basic training but had never left the fortress. Crane asked to see their credentials, and was relieved to see they had no idea what he was talking about. It seemed that Isse was indeed messing with him before.

Crane was a little surprised to see that even though all of his new minions were citizens of Kallamore, none of them were nobles. That didn't bother Crane at all, he didn't want anything to do with them. After checking each's stats and skill window Crane ordered them to be at the city gates in two hours.

The last battle exemplarated Crane's need for personal potions, so he went to the grocery and bought 25G worth of ingredients for health and mana potions. Crane had bought items there so often he got a discount when buying in bulk and receive 10% extra. Crane then went to the front gates to wait for his men and took out his cauldron and herbs. Being mindful of his stirring he made 40 health potions and 20 mana potions, increasing his alchemy skill to level 3. Although the potions were lower than the quality of those he could buy from a store, they were a fraction of the price. He had half a mind to open up shop and start selling potions for a living but that would attract the attention of the craft guilds who regulate potion prices and selling potions without being a member of the craft guild would bring untold trouble to his doorstep. At the appointed time his men showed up and he headed out for the Spider's canyon.

The trip took six days, and Crane used that time to get to know his people very well. He was especially grateful that one of the men knew how to cook. The meat gathered from side hunting along the trip went into a stew that although not the greatest thing Crane had ever eaten, was far above rye bread at least. Each man had his own story and Crane wanted to hear them all. After the second day of traveling them men no longer insisted on calling him Sir, as they all became more informal with each other.

Crane and company finally arrived at the spider's canyon and Crane went ahead to scout a bit. The weaker rag spiders were the size of a large suitcase, while the stronger ones were the size of a couch. Crane went back to the men and told them how to set up.

"The spiders can move well enough even if they only have three legs left. But cutting their bodies has little effect and their small heads are hard to attack. Here is how we are going to fight, we will divide into two teams of 5, and each person in the team with have a mission."

Crane took two people and gave them a large number of antidotes, health and mana potions. He then designated the teams into a potion divider, pinner, attacker, defender, and spotter. The potion divider gave out the potions needed, the pinner stuck his sword into the spider and keep it from moving, the attacker was the primary damage dealer, the defender pissed off the spider to get it's attention and was the primary damage taker, and the spotter was on the lookout to prevent the team from being attacked without warning.

Crande made the men go through two hours of practicing the rotation pattern before he let them fight the spiders. Crane then unleashed the two teams who slowly but surely killed spider by spider. Crane knew this was not the fastest way to kill the spiders but it was the safest and build teamwork.

Another point in rotating position teamwork was that everyone became familiar with what needed to be done, they knew that to kill the spiders they needed to stop its movement, attack it's weak points, defend against it's attacks, heal when necessary, and keep an eye out for more spiders. After a few hours of practice Crane called them back and divided them into two groups of three and one of four. Soldier took on multiple roles while being aware of what the others were doing. Crane supervised the whole time, making sure the groups only took on a reasonable number of spiders and killing extras while practicing his throw skill. At the point where each member was capable of all five positions at once, Crane ordered them to break up into pairs. It took a two straight days of tedious training to get them to that point but they could now take on spiders individually or in a few cases two at once. Crane speed up the pace by allowing more spiders through him and even dragged spiders from further in to them.

After two weeks they had all reached the upper 40s and Crane's Throw skill was reaching intermediate. Because of the earlier training they had not been bitten once and Crane believed them ready for the larger game. Back into pairs that Crane found compatible they overwhelmed one large spider after another, gaining levels at a much faster rate. When many spiders gathered around them Crane weakened them up with his knives and allowed his subordinates to finish them up. During the now three week campaign Crane had only leveled once but his me now reached level 50. With the exception of Crane who had been attacking from a distance, everyone in the party had been bitten and poisoned at least once and the antidotes started to get used up.

When the group had gotten to level 60 Crane pushed the group forward, eliminating spiders until Crane found the lair of the queen rag spider.

Crane addressed his men, "This is the last stop, you have all come far and become strong. You're are to defeat every spider that descends the walls as I kill the queen. Fight in pairs and help one another out if poisoned, paralyzed, or caught in a web. You managed well enough that we still have 22 antidotes left and everyone gets two a piece. Remember, no hero business, watch each other's back and we all make home alive." The men saluted and followed Crane into the web covered canyon. Crane felt a sense of deja vu, except he was Levi and there were no noblemen here. He walked into the center of the chasm and saw the giant movie theater screen sized spider descend upside down from an elevated web. It had a red name above it which Crane could only stare blankly at. "Seriously... Charlotte? As in Charlotte's web?!"

Crane left the spiders that crawled down the web coated cliffs to his minions and began to dodge the poison shots Charlotte had been spitting at him. Crane wasn't going to let that fat bug attack him like that so Crane took out his knife set and threw several knives at the web above Charlotte while dodging the poison spit. Crane then threw a knife directly at Charlotte's upside down hanging head, prompting her to rise a few feet to avoid it. Crane repeated this twice more and when the spider was over 70 feet in the air, crane took out the burrower's knife and threw it at the main strand holding Charlotte in the air. With the other supporting lines cut by his previous knives, Charlotte fell onto the ground hard, not killing it outright but greatly stunning it at least.

Crane ran over to the incapacitated spider and jumped on top of it and began to repeatedly stab it. The spider regained movement and tried to get Crane off it. It released a purple gas that spread over the chasm before dissipating.

-You have been poisoned!  
Life is decreasing continuously.

Crane wanted to get it over with and decided to keep stabbing the spider and cure himself afterwards. He couldn't perform any routines while on a bucking spider but as long as he kept stabbing everything would be fine, or so he thought."

"Antidote! I need an Antidote!"  
"We're poisoned too, did you already use both yours?"  
"Yea, but it didn't work, no I think it made it worse!"  
"Wait, I just used one too, my health is dropping faster!"  
"What is going on?"  
"Stay in formation!"

Crane's attack finally killed the queen, but he had new problems now.

"What's going on?!"

"Sir the antidotes are speeding up the poison!"

One of the men had died already and the others were crying in pain, "Sir! Help Us!" Crane didn't know what was wrong, so he took out one of the antidotes, and screamed, "IDENTIFY!"

Tampered All purpose antidotes  
Durablity: 1/1  
A toxin was added that accumulates when used and enhances the effect of powerful spider poison instead of negating.

Crane pulled out his recipe book and looked up antidotes as quickly as he could, but his men were dying around him and he could only watch there last moment of life, crying for him to save them. Crane gave them all his health potions while trying to find some way, any way to cure them. But there wasn't, they had accumulated too much of the toxin into their bodies. There wasn't a single antidote he could make with the ingredients he had on hand. There were no herbs in the area that Crane could use to make anything with. Crane was poisoned as well but he had not taken any antidotes and health health would take almost an hour to hit zero, enough time to watch helplessly as the people around him died but not enough to get to the closest town.

The spiders long since dead, the last four men and Crane sat in a circle, passing the last health potions back and forth.

The one who spoke first was the soldier who cooked meals for the team, "It is an honor to die on the battlefield."

"We're not dying of battle, we're dying of poison."  
"Not all of us, Officer Crane is a foreigner, I hear after they die, they reappear four days later, so at least he'll tell our tale."  
"Hey guys, I have a problem with going down without a fight, Sir, I have a favor to ask."

Crane and his men raised swords, they agreed to a duel format free for all, last man standing wins, no skills, no abilities, pure swordsman till the end.

Crane slowed his speed and strength to match the others, He took on two people while the other three fought each other. They swung their swords for Crane's weak spots, like he taught them to, and watched his attack patterns to predict his movements, just like he taught them too. Crane let their better strikes hit him while delivering weak strikes to their openings, he fought at a level just above them. He saw them smile as they fought hard against him and managed to attack him. Crane slew the first one, although Crane was gentle, the poison was not. Crane let himself get slashed in an opening by the other before he unwilling dealt another finishing blow.

Crane saw that the last person left standing was the cook. However he did not fight, he said, "Sir, you slayed the queen spider yes?"

"Yes."

"And the antidote reacted to the queen's poison?"

"Yes."

"Then that answer is simple, the queen should've dropped a poison sack, mix the poison sack with an antidote and the toxin will activate, boil the mixture and the poison with evaporate, leaving a single antidote."

Crane's eyes widened and he ran over to the queen. He found the poison sack and pulled out his couldron. "Why didn't you say anything?! I could have-"  
"Because they queen only drops one poison sack, and even though the toxin is boiled out, if someone with the toxin drinks it, it only has a small chance of working. I wanted you to use it sir."

"But I will come back even if I die, if I can only make one, even if it only has a small chance to work, you should drink it."

"I thought you would feel that way, which is why I told you now, it will take a few minutes to boil, but I only have a few seconds left."

Crane's eyes stared at this soldier, as if he were trying to memorize every aspect of him.

The man said, "It is ok, I am ready to die for my kingdom, but you are not of Kallamore, you do not have to die for this country. It is funny, all I ever wanted to become a simple chief."

With those as his last words he collapsed and disappeared. Another few minutes passed and Crane boiled down the antidote and put it in a jar. "Identify"

All Purpose antidote  
Durability 1/1  
Cures Paralysis and Poison  
May not works if consumed with with certain toxins

Crane used it and just as he said, it worked. Crane walked through through the items dropped by spiders and his team alike and left the canyon.

Quest Failed :Into the spider's canyon  
Difficulty D  
All the spiders were slain but all infantry died

-

When Crane returned he was called to a meeting by the head of the base to explain what had happened. Crane told them that the antidote had been poisoned, and that someone was too blame. The entire thing turned into a court hearing.

"We are here today to determine the events that occurred in the Spider's canyon."  
An old man sat in the center of a half circle desk announcing what was going on.

"First speaker, Kalt Owens, tell us how it began."

Owens nervously started, "Well, I, ah, I told the kid he had a bright future ahead, just a bit longer to his class change. I told him about the quest, he asked me if he would get potions, I said yes, He accepted the quest, and I gave him the antidotes that were set aside for the quest. That was about, er, a month ago." Owens sat down, hoping he was helping Crane.

"Yes now the point of these altered antidotes. Crane provided the remaining one and gave a statement for what happened. The tests are still running and will be here shortly, is there anyone here who believes this record is false?"

A man stood up from the table. Crane recognized his former commander, Captain Dessen, and repressed his urge to hit him.

"Crane's commander told him before the mission that he could advance to his next class with only a few more level. It is not unheard of for an officer to hord experience for himself. I propose that this tale of tampered potions is just that, a tale. If he had died with his men it may have been believable, but his story about a would be chief knowing how to neutralize a toxin and sacrifice himself so that Crane alone could survive is so far fetched it should be laughed right out of this room. Crane must've let his own men die in battle so he could have more experience and quickly advance to his next class."

All the willpower in the world couldn't stopped Crane from throwing himself across the room and slamming his fist repeatedly into Dessen's face.

"Restrain him at once!"  
Three soldier came to rip Crane off Dessen. Dessen had damage to his face giving his face a bloody appearance.

Just then a person came into the room and up to the judge. The judge read over the paper he had been handed. "These are the results of the tests on the All purpose Antidote Crane presented. The results show, nothing. The potion is completely normal, no alteration in any way."

Crane froze on the spot, he tested it himself and the Identifiers and alchemist of the base would not be inferior to him, something didn't make sense.

"Ah hem, In light of this evidence, Captain Dessen's testimonial, and Crane's outrageous behavior while in court, I use the power vested in me to strip Crane on his rank and discharge him from the Royal Kallamore Army. It seems evident that a foreigner has no place here."

You have been discharged  
Kallamore Warrior's Helmet has been unequipped  
Officer's Uniform has been unequipped  
Officer's boots has been unequipped

As Crane was trying to figure out what happened, he saw the smile on Dessen's bloodied face. Then like an obvious afterthought, it all made perfect sense. Crane had been warned that plans were made to exterminate him, but Crane had been too arrogant to realize there were ways to do it that went around that fact that he couldn't be permanently killed. The potions were given to him by Owens so Crane did not suspect that the ones Owens received them from likely worked for Dessen. As for the potion test, someone could easily have been bribed to switch out the poisoned antidote for a normal one.

Crane was furious at Dessen, who ever helped him, and whoever he worked for, but most of all he was furious with himself. Earlier Crane had looked at the idea of death with a detached sense that could only be found in the video games he despised. The reason those men died and were not coming back was because Crane had become what he most hated, and because of that he lost everything.

Crane's class had a high stat percent buff when he was equipped with the Kallamore Warrior's Helmet, and a stat percent debuff when not equipped. The helmet had a requirement of membership in the Kallamore army so he could no longer equip it. His Officer's uniforms were also not equipable. Crane was trapped in a crippled class and incapable of changing from it. He had considered erasing his account and starting anew, but he would lose the library bonus stats and the twelve forms, traits he gained through practice and time. At that point a thought occurred, "There is more than one way."


	9. Vol1 Chapter9 The Path to Strength

Chapter 9  
The path to Strength

Crane returned to the library, more specifically, the autobiography section of famous warriors. He took a large stack of books to his table and began to read the first few chapters of each. Unlike adventure stories, autobiographies contained the how the person started out, and how they became strong. If it was through some lucky incident or encounter he closed it up and put it back. Crane felt he had used up all his luck and wasted it, so that kind of information was useless to him. But if he found a way to become stronger, he would write it down to put into action as soon as he could. There were locations where one could learn powerful and useful skills, there were methods of raising stats without leveling up, and there were hidden uses of common skills. However the list was still small, too small for him to take back the difference from the -20% stat debuff he now permanently had. He had to incorporate his own training into each training to increase his strength and skills. He knew where to start.

Crane knew of the training hall of Yarsan since he first mapped the city, the building was so large it could probably be seen from space, if Versailles had any satellites. According to several autobiographies, those powerful people got their start by training at a Basic Training hall until several of their base stats rose to a max of 40 points. But for Crane that would only be half the practice.

As Crane walked in, a burly man at the door looked at his beginner clothes and said, "Young adventurer, I presume you have arrived at the Versailles continent very recently."

Crane smiled lightly, "Not exactly sir, I came here for basic training."

The man gave a mildly impressed look at the young Crane and said, "You can gain strength in this place, but it takes more than most have, do you have it in you complete the basic training?"

Crane looked down for a moment then up at instructor and said, "We shall see."

Crane walked over to the wall and picked up one of the thousands of swords that hung there and walked over to a dummy, he took a deep breath and said, "Show stats."

Status Window

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 92

Class- Kallamore Warrior

Title- None

Fame- 240

Health- 2830

Mana- 1340

Strength- 200-30

Agility- 205-31

Wisdom- 70-4

Intellect- 70-4

Vitality- 50+0

Luck- 0+10

Leadership 12+8

Finesse- XX+10

Fighting Spirit- 28+3

Perseverance 34+6

Endurance- 40+2

Attack- 98

Defense- 28

+ All stats are added 10  
+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack  
+ Decreases Mana Cost for Sword Skills by 50%  
+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse  
+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet  
+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet

The difference between wearing and not wearing the helmet he could no longer wear was 40%. Over time no amount of training could make up for the difference but there was a way to cover for it.

Crane closed the screen and took his majestic stance, imagining cutting the dummy into sixteen pieces. 71! He struck the dummy in four, fast precise regular attacks and took his stance again, this time imagining his sword was a light-saber that could cut through anything as if it were made of mist. 69! He struck the dummy another four times and took the stance again.

All the routines within Soa's routine increased in proficiency together, it did not matter which one he used. How much the proficiency increased when used was determined by its level and the finesse stat of the routine used. Even Crane's shout skill only increased in proficiency if the strength boost was used on an attack which caused damage, but a routine could increase as long as the stat boost was used. Crane could get similar results by running a few paces after using Noble step but the training hall was more efficient. The proficiency increase of a 80 finesse routine was four times that of a 40 finesse routine. Cranes came here with several things in mind. He knew that it took anywhere from one to three months to complete the training, Crane goal wasn't speed but effect. By the time Crane completed his training, whenever it was, he wanted to be able to get 90 or higher on his finesse each and every time he used it. And if possible Crane wanted to raise Soa's Routine proficiency as high as he could.

Crane used a routine before every attack and practiced different images and emotions. When his mana had reached zero he would whack the scarecrow every way he knew how until his mana fully returned and he would go back to practicing. In this way he continued for seven hours and he got his first point.

-Strength increased by 1 point. (+1 STR)

Crane had doubts at first of whether or not the training hall would work but after seeing its truth he redoubled his efforts. However after a few hours more, the pain and monotony of the exercise, as well as the mental stress of repeatedly using powerful emotions to summon high finesse, weakened Crane's resolve. 'Why do I have to do this,' 'why am I putting myself through this,' 'this isn't worth it, this isn't even real,' But at those thoughts he remembered the people under his command who died screaming for his help before his eyes, he remembered the smiling faces of his subordinates when he let them hit him before his next strike ended their lives, he remembered the wise soldier who wanted to become a chief and died because of the greed of others and Crane's own arrogance. Crane gripped the handle of his sword so hard he felt it would splinter and attacked the scarecrow with every piece of strength he had until his mana returned. He then took a deep breath and went back to finesse training.

After two weeks of pushing himself through the toughest challenge he had ever experienced, he received a long awaited message.

Skill Level Up: Soa's Routine [5]

Crane smiled and went back to hitting the scarecrow.  
Another month and a half went by and Crane's mind had changed. Two months of mental practice had granted him heightened will power and imagery skills. Although there was no stat to prove it, the fact that Crane hadn't hit a finesse rating of less than 92 in the past week showed he was capable of invoking any degree of thought and pressure in an instant.

Strength rises by 1 point. (+1 STR)  
Agility rises by 1 point. (+1 AGI)  
Vitality rises by 1 point. (+1 VIT)  
Fame rises by 20 point. (+20 FAME)  
Life rises by 100 point. (+100 HP)

Crane stopped and looked at his messages, "Show stat window."

Status Window

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 92

Class- Kallamore Warrior

Title- None

Fame- 260

Health- 2830

Mana- 1340

Strength- 240-38

Agility- 245-39

Wisdom- 70-4

Intellect- 70-4

Vitality- 90-8

Luck- 0+10

Leadership 12+8

Finesse- XX+10

Fighting Spirit- 68-4

Perseverance 98-9

Endurance- 40+2

Attack- 122

Defense- 40

+ All stats are added 10  
+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack  
+ Decreases Mana Consuption for Sword Skills by 50%  
+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse  
+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet  
+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing the Kallamore Warrior's helmet

He gained 40 points in three stats but his -20% stats meant he had only earned a net 32 points. His greatest increase was in the Perseverance stat, which increased when one performed the same action over and over, it increased defense and stamina by a large margin. Although he had not reached the level he once was, his now level 6 Soa's routine would fill the gap. However this was only a single step, Crane had a long way to go.

On his way out, he was stopped by the instructor. "You have thoroughly impressed me, not something easily accomplished, and I have a gift for you."

Crane was aware of the training sword, but he had not use for it. "Thank you but-"

"This is not a gift from me," he interrupted, "I am aware that the sword I usually give out is useless to you, but when I told a friend of mine about a routine using foreigner who practiced here daily, this man gave this to me and asked I give it to you when you were ready."

The instructor pulled out an elegant rapier Crane immediately recognized as his former commander's blade. Crane took it and said, "Give your friend my thanks and tell him.." Crane could not think of what to say next when the instructor suggested, "That you continue forward and well." Crane nodded and headed back to the library.

On the way there he took out the sword, "Identify."

Owen's Rapier  
Durability: 130/130  
Damage- 29  
Made by the great Blacksmith Oralast, this blade was made specifically for fencers.  
Options:  
+10 Finesse  
Requirement:  
Level 120  
Finesse stat

This was Owen's personal weapon, likely made for him years ago. If the training hall instructor told Owens that Crane was using routines in his practice Owens would have known the reason, and that a sword with +10 finesse would be immeasurably useful when he could equip it.

Crane knew that he had looked through every available book shelf and had written down every way he could find to become stronger. But while he was training he remembered the second quest he received in Royal Road and where he found the answer to it. He walked up to the woman at the front counter or the library and said, "I would like to look through the restricted section."

"I suppose telling you that access to the restricted section is in fact restricted is pointless. There are records in there people sleep better at night knowing are kept secure. So why don't you tell me why you want access and we'll go from there."

Crane told her his tale from leaving the library five months prior, to returning two months ago to now.

"So that's how it is, but I still can't let you inside to read those books. The only way inside is if you're an authorized library staff member or if you're returning an overdue book."

Crane asked, "Are you hiring?"

"Nope, we got several foreigners working here for next to nothing, though even they are not authorized to access it."

"Well, is there anything I can do? Like when you waved my fee?"

"Hmm, it just so happened that someone who can't be punished for doing so borrowed a book from the restricted section, left the city, and hasn't returned it."

"Why can't he be punished? I thought everyone had to sign that waiver thing."

"Now they do, it is because of him that we started that, he borrowed it shortly after the library opened. The book in question is now 170 years overdue."

Crane was shocked, she must have been joking, "Umm, wouldn't he be dead by now?"

"Probably, in any case, I can't grant you access to the restricted section, but if you get the book he borrowed, I'll let you put it back in its bookshelf. You can take as long to put it back as you want."

Retrieve the book  
Before it was illegal to do so, someone borrowed a book from the restricted section. Find the book to gain one time access to the Yarsan library's restricted section.  
Difficulty Unknown

Crane wasn't certain about the unknown difficulty, but if there was even one more way to get stronger inside than it was worth it.

"I'll get that book."

You accepted the quest

"Good luck, the book is called Herbs of Senbain Mountains"

Crane went back to the library and piled up every book on the Senbain mountains he could find. With his Potent Recipes of Kallamore book as a guide, Crane looked up the possible locations of the best place for the rarest and most useful herbs to grow. His alchemy book was several hundred years old and the person who borrowed the book may have had the very same book. With those two books and the alchemy skill, one could make powerful potions. However there was a great risk, The mountains were covered in powerful monsters, and although no one knew exactly where they were, the Ekril likely lived there as well.

There were no books that had exact herb locations, but by cross referencing the general medical references within the history of the areas with herbs that commonly grew together that could make potions that matched that area along with several agriculture books, Crane got a general idea of places within the Senbain mountains with high chances of growing rare herbs that could be used to make powerful potions.

After four days or research, Crane had a general map of the 3 areas that likely possessed herbs that could be used in a large number of powerful potions. He left the library for the Dark Djinn guild house where he had been keeping his stuff in storage since he no longer had access to the base storage. When he arrived he saw that there were a several members there gathered around a board. The board had information on it which updated weekly, it told of secret rumors and contacts that often lead to quests. As he always did he passed it by without reading it and went to his room. He opened his storage and found something he didn't expect. There was always a chance of something getting stolen though he was assured it would not happen, but Crane found an extra item inside his storage. He took it out and said, "Identify."

Dark Djinn welcome package  
One week after joining the Dark Djinns, low level members receive guild equipment to help them along.

Crane figured that he hadn't gotten a uniform before because he was required to wear the Kallamore uniform. "Open."

You have received

Dark Blue Overcoat  
Durability 80/80  
Defense 16  
Made with the skin of a lizardman beneath soft fabric, this jacket provides the highest defense without limiting mobility.  
Options:  
Weather resistant  
Hidden pockets  
Requirements:  
Level 70 Dark Djinn member

Black Shirt  
Durability 40/40  
Defense 6  
Requirements:  
Level 20 Dark Djinn member

Black pants  
Durability 35/35  
Defense 4  
Requirements:  
Level 20 Dark Djinn member

Black boots  
Durability 60/60  
Defense 5  
Options:  
Muffles the sound of footsteps  
Requirements:  
Level 40 Dark Djinn member

Dark Blue Gloves  
Durability 40/40  
Defense 3  
Options:  
Leave no fingerprints  
Requirements:  
Level 40 Dark Djinn member

Dark Blue wide brimmed Feather hat  
Durability 30/30  
Defense 3  
Contains the feather of a white Crane  
Requirements:  
Level 40

Crane didn't mind that fact that the Dark Djinns' standard colors were black and dark blue. The equipment usually enabled you to move through the night unseen of that is what you wanted, and combined it had greater defense than his now non equippable officer uniform. But what he did mind was that with all this equipment on, he would look like a cartoon character.

"A feather hat? Seriously?" He would bet that the hat wasn't even apart of the set.

Crane walked down the stairs with his starter equipment on and his guild equipment in his inventory when he was stopped at the stairs by the hostess.  
She said with a smile, "Did you not get the equipment I made?"

"Um I did but, well, can I put it on later?"

Like a mother speaking to a child trying to get out of doing the chores, she said "Now now, you joined this guild and said you wanted to be a good public face of the guild. You have the duty to your guild to look the part. Unless you don't like my handmade equipment..."

Crane was now felt the eyes of every person in the house and realized he didn't have a choice. He brought up his inventory screen and double clicked each item.

The snickering began. He barely made it to the door before the entire house had burst out into hysterical laughter. With the exception of the hostess, every person there was a user. Just so he could stop the laughter, Crane yelled, "Hey, Does Anyone wanna go with me to the Senbain Mountains?!" And just like that, the users shut up. The dangers of the Senbain mountain range were well known. Going there was as good as a death sentence.

Crane left the house but after saying it outloud, it did occur to him that maybe he should not go alone. No matter how much preparation you have done, someone to watch your back always helps. At that thought Crane heard a "Hey!" Crane turned around to see a little girl in a magician's hat who had been one of the ones laughing at his outfit earlier. "Are you really going into the Senbain Mountains?"

Not much good would come from lying so he gave an affirmative nod.

"Which part?"

Crane pulled out a map of Kallamore Kingdom and pointed to the mountain range closest to Yarsan. Although there were other places with rarer herbs, Crane had a suspicion that this was the most likely place, the potion that could be made from that herb had a very particular effect, so that was where he would start. The girl's eyes' lit up and she said, "Me and a party are going there too! I don't know how strong you are, but if our destination is the same, shall we go there together?"

After rag spider canyon, Crane was very wary of joining another party, but the party wasn't of NPCs, but users, as long as they could take care of themselves he didn't mind watching their back while they watched his. "Alright, when are you heading off?

She smiled and said, "later today, I'm meeting with my party at the front gate. Can you meet us there around 3pm?"

"Yea, that's fine."

Crane went to the market to buy throwing knives and a large variety of herbs to create most basic potions and a few poisons. Crane neglected to ask about the parties other members but the girl at least would probably be a spellcaster from the looks of her equipment, so Crane bought extra ingredients for mana potions. He did not know what potions he would need so Crane did not mix them. After storing some knives in the hidden pockets of his overcoat, he headed out for the meeting place.

Crane walked out the gate a little early and saw a girl wearing the magician hat. "Hey, I'm here, where are the others?"

She turned around and said," What? Who are you?"

Crane saw her face and realized his mistake, this girl wore the same outfit but was taller and looked closer to his age than the other girl did. He was about to apologize when another little girl, this time in a white cleric's robe, came running over to Crane and the other girl. The little cleric was the youngest so far, and crane became suspicious of the fact that these two magicians showed up in the place where he was told to meet for the party.

"Umm, is this the party heading for the Senbain Mountains?"

The older one said, "Yes, but.. Wait, my sister messaged me about you, she said she found some swordsmans in the shopping district saying he was heading to the mountains. So that's you huh?"

Crane realized that these three magicians were sisters and that the middle one who invited him had not told these two she was a member of a dark guild. Crane decided it was best to say as little as possible for now and nodded to the older sister's question.

A few minutes later the last little magician showed up and said, "Ah, I guess you already met my sisters.. Well , introduction time, my name is Salem, and I am a black mage specializing in fire."

The little one spoke next and said, "Hiiii! Im Tonya, and Imma priestess. Im good at healing and buff spells."

Crane looked up to the eldest one but she avoided eye contact and said nothing, Salem then said, "And she's Eris, she's a black mage like me, but she specializes in dark magic. We're all sisters in real life and fight together as the three witches!"

If Crane had not been training mentally for two months he would've cracked up badly, but he kept his poker face and said, "Well, my name is Crane, and I am a swordsman." He whipped his rapier up for emphasis on the obvious and said, "Well, now that introductions are done, would you like to share what you're going to the the mountains for or just leave now?"

Eris started walking in the direction of the mountains with Tonya following. Salem said, "She is not very quick to trust people." Salem and Crane caught up to the girls headed for the the most dangerous area in the Kallamore kingdom.

-

Crane and the three witches had been walking for about ten hours without a single word shared between them. Crane didn't mind silence, but their destination was about an eleven day walk and Crane needed to know a few things. He walked up to the group so they were all in eyeshot and said, "How much experience do you have?"

Little Tonya said, "We have looooaads!" We've fought rabbits, and foxes, and wolves, and snakes, and bears, an-" "Enough, We are strong enough to take care of ourselves."  
Saying two things at once, Eris effectively put the entire group on mute for the rest of the day.

At night they group set up camp in a small grove of trees, monsters were 50% stronger at night and it was not worth the risk to continue. Crane was on lookout duty, or so he told them. Truth was, Crane was practicing battle aura. It was a learn through practice skill he read about before going to the training hall and required 60 fighting spirit to learn. Fighting spirit itself weakens monsters around the user and can even make them think twice about attacking. Battle aura replaces the effect of fighting spirit with a powerful thought generated by the user. If it is a weak thought about cutting up anything that comes close to pieces, it has about the same effect and range as fighting spirit. But if it is a powerful thought, like, "I will make everything I see suffer a fate that will make them beg for death," while imagining said fate, the effect of battle aura changes into a powerful intimidation that affects only the area in front of you. It can not inflict damage but the effects are as wide and flexible as the user's mind and just as powerful. The skill however is not widely known because it is almost impossible to accidentally train. To train it Crane needed to practice using powerful images in his head to scare off monsters, while completely surrounded by monsters for a period of several hours. That is why Crane chose this place. The girls didn't know it, but they were completely surrounded. The reason was because Crane suggested they stay the night inside the tree grove. The books Crane read included more than just herb references, Crane looked up every report of every monster ever spotted in the Senbain mountains. One of the monsters responsible for many sneak attacks was a weaker type monster than hid in plain sight and waited for the prey to let down their guard. Crane and the witches set up camp in a grove of trees but the truth was that there wasn't a single tree in that area. Trick Trees as they were called, were around level 55, and could easily be mistaken for a tree if it stood still. Everytime he saw one move, Crane would imagine chopping it up while laughing manically. Afterwards it would immediately stop moving.

After about 2 hours, all the Trick Trees knew they had been made, they had planned to attack at once but the every time they tried to move closer they felt death's hand grip them. They could feel that Crane was dangerous but they were carnivores posing as a plant and they were hungry. One of them inched closer and Crane turned on it with a glare so fierce, the trick tree felt that he was the one about to be eaten. It backed away from the man slowly but the further away it got, the closer the man felt, it didn't make sense. When it had backed away so much there were no trees behind it, it separated its legs and ran away into the night. One by one, brave trees attempted to approach the man, only to feel a fear like the were in the presence of a hungry fire breathing dragon.

You have learned New Skill: Battle Aura

"Morning... Did we move?"  
"Heeeeeey, where'd the treeeess go?"

Crane got up and said, "Time to hit the road, I'll take lead."

"Skill window Battle Aura"

Battle Aura [1] 0%  
Converts fighting spirit into directed aura based off the user's thought. Power determined by strength of thought, area value determined by Fighting spirit, area position determined by thought itself  
Mana Cost: 1 every 3 seconds

The skill used mana very slowly, however in royal road, mana does not recharge while using a skill, though there are skills that temporarily decrease maximum mana when used. Crane did not use the skill yet, he wanted to see the monsters that were close by and see how fast he could make them run away, but then he had an idea. Crane lead them on a small detour into an area where a certain monster was known to roam. After the group entered an area that had different plants, Eris said, "Hey! Where are you talking us! That tree only grows in the area southwest of Yarsan. We shouldn't see them on a direct southern route the the mountains!"

Crane was mildly impresses, "You are correct, this is not the straight route, the straight route will take another ten days, there is a faster way."

She spoke up again, "If there were a faster way I would know about it!"

At first Crane thought she may have been arrogant, but then he realized that as the eldest of three sisters she likely looked after the other two and protected them. She probably already researched the fastest route and the area around it to best protect her sisters.

"I'm sure you would Eris, but the way we are going to get there has never been attempted before, so of course you have never heard of it."

She looked at him with a doubting expression and said, "And if it has never been tried before, how do you know of it?"

Crane smiled and said, "Because I just thought of it."

Crane sat down and took out his cauldron, pile of ingredients and herbs, and his recipe book. Crane asked Tonya, "Can you heal well and cure ailments?"

She quickly replied "Of Course I can!"

Crane had bought a rare and expensive ingredient a while back that could be used to make a potion that gave a fairly substantial buff. But it required alchemy mastery a few levels higher than he had. Crane wanted to make as many potions as he could to level up his proficiency so he confirmed that he didn't need anything but mana potions. Crane started dumping ingredients and herbs into his cauldron and mixing them in slow deliberate motions. The witches gathered around him to see what he was doing, trying to find some clue as to how this would help them get to their destination faster. But crane started to fill up bottle after bottle with his brew, replacing the emptying cauldron with more and more ingredients. After Crane had filled up twenty bottles, Eris finally said, "Ok, I give, what are you making?"

"These are mana potions, they're pretty decent and two or three could probably fill any of you up."

The girls each let out a unique gasp. The alchemy skill was so well regulated and rare among users they had not even considered that mana potions, highly expensive item sold in store were being made en masse in front of them. Eris looked for a moment at the ever rising pile of potions and said, "None of us have a teleport spell of any length, you're not going to use us like a mana potion powered car that'll zip you across the planes in a day or two."

This woman was being very negative Crane noticed. If gold fell from the sky she would probably find some way to complain. Not that it was entirely a bad thing, trusting or believing in someone could turn around and bite you in the butt. She probably thought that someone with people to protect couldn't risk trusting others because if she was betrayed then the people she cared for could be hurt. Even though Crane was about the same age she was, she only saw him as a potential threat. That did not matter to Crane though, honestly he approved of her suspicions. Whether or not she and Crane got along didn't matter that much to him, she had her duties, and he had his.

"I won't deny that I'm going to use these potions to zip across the planes in a day or two, but that is for later, for now you and your sisters can do whatever you want until I am done. However I'm quite sure you are not aware of this area's monster population. It is safest to stay here at the moment."

Eris crossed her arms and said, "I know way more about the local monsters than you!"

Crane sighed as he stirred the cauldron and said, "Then where did the trees go last night?"

She knew she had to stop talking, it was obvious her bluff had been called and if she continued Crane may embarrass her in front of her sisters. Crane on the other hand was glad she didn't ask him, if she had, he would have a hard time explaining why he purposely camped inside a pack of carnivorous trees without warning them.

After Crane made about a hundred mana potions, a few health potions, and four antidotes, he would never travel without a couple of his own again, his potion mastery had leveled up to 5 and he was as ready as he could be to make the the potion. He only had one shot, and if it wasn't strong enough, coming here was a complete waste. He slowly and carefully mixed in the ingredient and after letting it cure, poured it into a bottle. "Identify."

Knight's Potions  
Strength +50  
Agility +50  
Vitality +50  
Honor +50  
Lasts 3 minutes  
Does not stack with other Potions

Crane took a sigh of relief. The point of a knight potions was honor points and Crane was relieved it gave enough, but only three minutes. It went to prove he still wasn't good enough to make the high level potions in the book. But even though three minutes was going to be difficult, he had to believe it was going to work. "Part one complete."

Salem overhead Crane and said, "Part one? What's part two? How many parts are there?"

"Just three, part one was elevate potion making to where I could make this, now I'm going to find part two. You should stay here."

Eris said, "Like hell! You lead us here, where you go, we go."  
Tonya and Salem nodded in unison.

"Alright, but just so you know, part two is going to try to eat me." With that Crane headed further into the territory.

Chapter 9 pt2 (These posts can only have 60,000 characters and my chapter 9 had 78k, so i had to split it. Sorry for inconvenience)

Crane and the witches walked for about two hours. They saw bulls, large deer, boars, and other animals around. Crane was emitting a battle aura that gave the animals the impression that they were a small group of horses slowly walking by. The animals did not run away when Crane passed them. Eris said in a somewhat low voice, "hey, what is going on, this area has too many animals. If a pack of wolves showed up here they would be in heaven." Once again Crane was impressed by her insight and he said, "They would sooner be in hell, wolves come here pretty often and are eaten quickly."  
Eris stopped in her tracks. "Eaten?! Wolves are eaten? Aren't wolves the top predator in the animal food chain? A pack of wolves can even take on a bear." She wasn't wrong, monsters were divided into categories and although there were many types on the Senbain mountain, the most common type in the plains was animal. Animals were ordered into a hierarchy of who ate who and in most of the plains, wolves or bears were at the top, with nothing else stronger living there.

"In other areas yes, wolves are at the top, but the territory is home to a Fire Cat."  
Eris looked at Crane like he she had just been stabbed. Her sisters weren't aware of it but Fire Cats were the most dangerous animal type in Kallamore Kingdom. They were giant sabertooth tigers that had flames come out of their body meaning that Salem's skills would mostly be useless and the fire cat's level ranged from 80 to 130. However Fire Cats were not native the the area, but a pack of them lived to the north of Kallamore, opposite the grasslands of their location.

Eris solftly said, "Why is there a fire cat here? Wait, how do you even know there is one here?  
Crane replied, "There were reports in the area of a predator free zone, this is trait of fire cats, they kill all the predators in their territory. As for why, we'll probably find out later."  
This was obviously not making Eris feel better, "Why did you bring us here?!" Of the three witches, Salem was their best damage dealer, with Eris debuffing the target and Tonya buffing and healing the party. But a fire cat was pratically immune to fire spells meaning it was one of the few monsters the trio stood no chance against.

Crane said, "I told you before that part two would try to eat me, now if you'll stay here I need to call the fire cat."  
Eris almost yelled, "Call?! You're actually going to bring it here?!... Wait a second, you said wolves get eaten and predators get killed when they come here, how come we've made it this far in?"  
Crane smiled at her insight again and said, "Because I've been masking our presence. When a wolf with the intention of eating enters the territory, it gives off fighting spirit. A fire cat can sense fighting spirit, so I've replaced mine temporarily with something else. Now I am going to enhance my fighting spirit high enough to call the fire cat here."

Crane looked at the trio and said, "Now this is important, I am going to fight the fire cat and you three are not going to interfere, you understand?"

Tonya said, "At least let me bless you!"

"Not even that"

Eris looked at him and said, "But if you get killed we don't stand a chance against it."

Crane replied, "I don't want you fighting it in any circumstances. Go to the tree line there and cast magic to hide your presence."

It was common knowledge that dark magic could manipulate shadows to extend darkness over them to become less visible. Eris nodded and lead her sisters to the tree line. Crane removed the image of him and the people around him being simple horses from his mind and drank a mana potion. He had been using battle aura for the past two hours and wanted to be as close to full strength as he could be. When Crane's mana reached full, he imagined himself as a mighty dragon descending from the sky, intending to conquer the area and kill everything there. Crane heard a roar that echoed from a while away and kept up his presence. After a minute he saw the fire cat. Whether he was fortunate or not he did not know yet, because the fire cat's flames burned blue, a sign he was at least level 120. The beast looked like an image of a sabertooth tiger he had seen before except for the darker coloring, the truck sized stature, and the fact that flames licked themselves down the length of it body like quiet embers in a campfire. Crane reached for his knight potion and loosened the cork a bit. He approach the Fire Fat as it tried to circle him. When he got within range he shouted as loud as he could and threw the bottle at the fire cat's mouth. Direct hit! The cork opened fully and the potion ran into the mouth, the cat spit out the bottle, but it was empty. Crane changed his battle aura to that of an honorable knight seeking a worthy challenge.

If Crane had drunk the potion he would not have gained the +50 honor points, but if a monster drinks it that is another story. Monsters had a wider range of attributes making them more affected by the things around them.

The now honor filled fire cat seemed to respond to Crane's aura and it slowly approached him. They would both fight honorably, and the stronger one would emerge. However Crane was about 30 levels below the Fire Cat, and all the effort put into becoming stronger at the training center was negated by the fact that Fire Cat how had +50 STR, AGI, VIT, and Honor from the Knight's potion. If this was going to work Crane needed to win honorably which meant no help, no cleric buffs, no potion buffs or even potion healing, just his strength and skill against the now super fire cat before the potion wore off in three minutes.

But Crane wasn't worried, he made a discovery while training his finesse for two months straight. Crane imagined exactly how the battle would go, he envisioned exactly how the cat would move in response to his own movements and how he would counter it, Crane saw the entire battle in his mind, right up to his own absolute victory and performed his majestic stance. 120! His level six Soa's routine gave him about a 60% increase in attack strength and speed with 95 finesse, but with intense mental imaging beyond what Soa himself could've performed, Crane broke the limit and his stance gave him a 75% increase in attack strength and attack speed for the next six moves. Continuous use of the 12 forms counted and a single move until interrupted, but without interrupting it his moves would be too predictable and he would not be able to move or dodge without slashing his sword.

Crane dashed to met the fire cat with power lunge, Crane stopped before reaching him and turned to intercept where he would dodge. and started his twelve forms. He only had three movements left. The cat was unprepared to take an attack after a dodge and Crane delivered six strikes in an instant before the cat swiped its flaming paw as Crane ducked to it's side.

You are on fire, your health will decline.

.

Getting close to a Fire Cat meant getting caught on fire but Crane knew the risks and planned for them. While on fire but at the cat's side he dove behind it to once again intercept it if after moving away from him and started his twelve forms again. The only real hassle of fighting it was the fire, by watching the Fire Cat's spine and muscles, it wasn't difficult to predict how it would move and soon Crane had it panting heavily and tired while he was down to half health from being on fire. The cat was still under the effect of the potion and gave Crane a look that said, 'give me an honorable death.' Crane dashed forward and struck the cats forehead, dropping it to the ground. However the fire cat did not dissolve as a dead monster would. Crane's last blow to its head was from the hilt of his sword, not the tip.

"Alright, you girls can come on over now."

The trio ran over to see Crane, unaware that the beast still breathed.  
Tonya called out, "Healing Hand, Purify."  
Crane's life returned to close to normal and his on fire status had been cured.  
Crane then said, "If it isn't much trouble, could you heal him too?"

Tonya and the rest looked back at the Fire Cat and when they realized it was still breathing, they jumped back. Tonya looked at Eris who shook her head. Crane figured this might happen and took out a health potion. He popped to cork and poured it into the fire cat's mouth. Eris yelled, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU DOING?!"

Crane saw the blue flames on the Fire Cat grow a bit stronger and said, "Step 2."  
In one of the books Crane read about the difference between a regular horse and the horse ridden on by elite knights, there was an obscure reference to 'taming the honorable heart of the steed.' Crane interpreted this as to mean that the horse was given the honor stat through a buff or potion before it was broken by the knight. Of course the chances of this working on a monster while Crane himself wasn't a knight was practically zero, but when Crane saw the Fire Cat adapting to the honor stat, he went through with his plan and did not finish him off. Now he needed to wait and see the results.

Crane let off a powerful aura of the honorable knight recognizing an equal in combat over the cat as it began to wake up. It looked around and spoke in a low tone of voice, "Why did you not finish me off?"  
Crane smiled, some higher level animals, even wolves were capable of human speech. Crane looked at him and said, "Because I see the potential in you. I have been looking for a partner, an equal to fight as one with. Join me, give me your speed and strength, and I shall give you my skill and sword."

"Hmm, you are strong, one of the strongest I have ever fought, but there is another I know who is stronger, if you defeat him, I shall be your speed."

"Who is this stronger one?"

"Saber, the leader of my pack and killer of my mate. I fought him with all my strength but he defeated me with ease and banished me from my home.

Ding*

The Fire Cat has asked you to prove yourself by killing the only one he ever lost to, the killer of his mate and pack leader, Saber.  
Difficulty: C  
Reward:  
The Fire Cat will join you as an ally

Crane needed a mount now, so he made a comprimise. "I shall defeat this Saber, but I require your speed at this time. Lend me your speed until the end of the week and I shall kill Saber by the end of the season.

The fire cat said, "Very well, I shall be your speed for now, but if you have not defeated Saber by then, then I shall know your word is not good."

You have accepted the Quest  
Quest Requirement added: Finish within three months  
Quest Penalty added: Failure to finish will result in future hostility from the fire cat.

The named leader of a pack of fire cat would be around level 150. Crane did not mention it, but an honorable fighter fights without tricks, that is the reason he could easily predict each of the cat's moves. Had he fought in a natural setting, after the cat saw Crane's strength it would've burned him repeatedly and waited for Crane to turn to ash. Even if it didn't, without the ability to predict the cat's moves, a single attack would likely kill him. Majestic stance doesn't increase defense at all so in a real 1 on 1 fight Crane would only be able to use Noble step to dodge and Regal Guard to block, leaving him only capable of using basic attacks to slowly whittle away at the monster's enormous health reserves. If Crane wanted to keep his new acquisition, he need to become stronger, and he only had about three months to do it to do it.

"Now you need a name, I shall call you, Kegan."

Eris slowly walked over to Crane while looking at the Fire Cat and said, "Are you gonna ride it? There is not enough room for all four of us up there."

Crane turned to her and her sisters with a smile and said, "But there is room for two and a half."

Crane was running at a Dash powered speed to the mountains. Running at his side was a fifteen foot from tooth to tail Fire cat being ridden on by two small girls and one even smaller girl. Crane's dash skill could be used continuously for about a mile before Crane had to refill with a mana potion, and he had over a hundred of them. This would be completely impossible if he had not increased his Perseverance stat by so much in the training hall, giving him almost three times the stamina he had before. After ten hours of running, night fell on the valley. The fire cat stopped embers from coming out of his back, but his legs, tail, and paws glowed with a blue flame as he ran. After another few hours the cat could not keep up with Crane and Crane said, "Let us rest now, my stamina is almost gone." As Salem got off she said, "Oww, my butt hurts." Riding bareback for long periods was painful.

They rested till morning and when the sun rose, the group could clearly see the mountain range.  
Crane said, "Ok girls, we're almost there so it is reveal what you're hiding time. I am here searching for an overdue library book, why are you here?"

The trio stared at Crane for a while before Eris said, "If you're not going to tell us the reason you're here, why should we?"

"It's the truth, I am on a quest to return a library book that contains knowledge about herbs found in the senbain mountains. In this section of the senbain mountains is a herb that can be used to make many powerful potions, one of which is capable of extending life."

"Ok, why do you think that is the herb the guy who borrowed the book is looking for?" Eris asked.

"Because he borrowed it 170 years ago."

Eris raised her eyebrows letting a shocked expression slip by before saying, "So the only place he could still be alive is here, if he is anywhere else you'd be looking for a corpse, so you're starting here first."

"Correct."

Eris nodded and said, "Ya, he's there, it's pretty impressive you found him with so little information."

Now it was Crane's turn to be surprised, "You know he's here? How?"

"Because I was given a quest to find an old man here last seen in this part of the mountains, from what I know, making a life extending potion sounds within his capabilities."

Tonya said, "So we're gonna stay together?"

Salem said, "Only if big sis says so."

Eris raised her shoulders in defeat, "If we have the same destination, I see no reason to separate."

Tonya jumped up and down, "Hurray!"

Crane was pretty sure the small cleric was just happy she could still ride Kegan.

Crane asked, "Ok, how much do you know of his location?"

"Thats it is around this area."

Crane wondered how on Versailles she had intended to find the man in a area filled with monsters between level 90 at the lowest and 350 at the highest if the reports he read were accurate."

"Ok, tell me everything you know about him, we'll work from there."

"He is a powerful user of dark magic. That's about it."

"Powerful huh, I can work with that. Kegan, I know there are plenty of powerful spirits in the mountain, but is there an area that others avoid completely?"

Kengan closed his eyes and remained silent. After a couple minutes, he said, "I can not get a clear picture of areas that are being avoided.

Crane had an idea, "Ok, if I exert a strong spirit, the monsters in the area will react by strengthening their own right? Can you use this to get a better picture?

"Yes."

Crane go on top of Kegan, Eris said, "What are you going to do?"

Crane replied, "Sonar," and he rode off on Kegan.

Crane had never ridden anything before, much less a giant sabertooth tiger, he was barely keeping his balance as Kegan jumped from rock face to rock face with Crane giving bursts of battle aura with the thought, "I am a powerful dragon come to kill you all." Every monster in that area felt the proverbial hairs on the back of their neck stand up and heightened their guard, releasing a stronger fighting spirit. Kegan avoided them keeping them far away but within range for Crane's sonar idea to work. After about an hour of jumping around, Kegan returned to the base of the mountain. "I've found a small area that others are definitely avoiding."

"Good work, lets go collect the girls and head up."

"But there is a problem, there are no paths we can reach the area without running into others."

"I see."

Crane found the trio again and they got back onto Kegan.

They approached each area they had to pass to see what path had the least risk. The first path was blocked by a pack of twenty or so Terror birds, velociraptor sized chickens thats were about level one hundred apiece. The next pass went through an underpass that had about half a dozen mountain trolls on it, giant four armed apes that averaged level 150 and had massive regenerative abilities. The following path seemed to be the home of rock lizards, five foot long lizards with a rock hard hide and a poisonous bite. And the last way to get to the empty area looked empty, but Kegan told Crane he sensed dozens of strong fighting spirits in the area.

"So, which is your favorite?"  
The girls were all silent, their options were to pick a path or return to Yarsan.  
Crane volunteered, "I've got a suggestion."

Eris looked up at Crane. He started, "I need that book, you need to meet the person, so here is the plan. We'll go down the last path, I'll run through it and draw whatever comes out at me, leading them away. You guys ride Kegan, get in, and do what you need to do. There is a good chance I'll die, so if I do, please ask the guy for the book, Herbs of Senbain."

"If you die, how will you get the book back?"

"Well that's the easy part, Eris, would you be my friend?"

She slowly nodded.

-Eris has been added to your friend list.

"Alright, lets go."

Crane stood at the edge of the area with hidden monsters and started walking forward. He had walked about a hundred feet in when he realized something. He walked back to his starting point making sure to take the same steps he took to get there.

Salem said, "Welcome back, how was your trip?"

Crane ignored her sarcasm and said, "Kegan, did I step on any of the fighting spirits you felt?"

"No, you walked within eight feet of three though and they did nothing."

"I see, I think these are cliff fly larva?"

Eris said, "Never heard of them."

"Cliff flies are giant flying bugs that swarm in certain areas, they dig holes in rocks with acid spit and lay their young inside. If the larva feel pressure above them, as in they get stepped on, they exhale a poison gas most monsters are vulnerable to. Other than Fire Cats there are no monsters in these mountains that can sense fighting spirit from a great distance so they could not pass through here without getting poisoned."

Crane had to test it first of course. "Kegan, where is a close one?"

"To the left of that stone."

Crane walked over to the stone in question and saw a tiny hole inside the rock. Crane took out a bottle and tossed it over the hole while holding his breathe. As soon as it hit the ground, a large puff of green gas erupted from the hole. Crane ran into the gas cloud and quickly capped the bottle. He ran back to and said, "Identify."

Larva fly poison gas  
A noxious fume that dissolves the inside of whatever breathes it in.  
Breaks down to harmless gas in a under a minute

-Skill Level Up: Identify [7]  
You can now identify the properties of items

Crane was both happy and sad. He hoped that collected gas could be used as a poison grenade but it was useless. But if Crane now used Identify on unknown herbs, he could find out what properties it would give a potion

Crane told the girls it was all clear as long as Kegan was taking the lead. They walked in an awkward zigzag path until, "We have reached the area where no others travel, but there appears to be a ring of these bugs around the entire area."

"Not a problem, go wait over there until I'm done," Crane said.

Kegan and the girls waited a good thirty feet away as crane took a deep breath in and walked over the area, activating one gas cloud at a time. After waiting a few more seconds for the gas to dissipate Crane took in a breath. After that he held it again and walked through the area, no poison. "All clear."

The group entered the ring and walked to the center. Crane looked around and said, "Yup, this place should have that herb, split up and look for a house."

"Why can't Kegan find him?"

"Because monsters and most warriors have fighting spirit, magicians on the other hand do not, you three for example are undetectable." Crane answered as Kegan nodded.

The group searched the immediate area, looking for signs of a hidden doorway or dwelling. Then the group heard a high pitch, "Foouuund iiit!"

Crane and the others gathered around Tonya who spotted a cave. Kegan confirmed there were no fighting spirits inside and they investigated. A couple feet inside there was a door, and feeling adventurous, Crane knocked on it four times and waited.

A few moments later the door opened revealing a tall old man without a shirt, bones in his hair and tattoos over him. He looked at the Crane in his blue and black outfit, the witch trio, then back to Crane and said, "Would you know which witch is which if every witch did switch?" He then raised a wand with a small skull at the end and said, "You can take a while to guess who, walk a mile in another shoe." The skull lit up for a moment and died down, the crazy old man then closed the door. Crane looked at Eris and said, "What was that all about?"

Eris looked back at him and said, "Heey, I'm Tonya."  
Tonya then screamed and Salem said, "Why am I in Salem's body and why is Tonya in mine?!" Crane shook his head and realized what was going in. He looked at Salem, now Eris and said, "He's a witch doctor isn't he?" She nodded, embarrassed. The now tall Sonya said, "This is awesome, we should stay like this," while jumping up and down. Salem and Eris in unison said, "No way!" Crane then said, "Tonya, can you use purify?"

"Well, ok, Purify." Nothing happened. It seemed that not only had their bodies been switched, their classes had as well. Crane turned to Salem and said, "Ok, you try." "No problem, Purify." This time a light did surround Salem, but nothing happened. Crane caught Eris looking downward and asked, "Was there something you had to tell us?" "Well, witch doctor curses can't be dispelled as easily as a regular curse. The require something more, I'm guessing that this spell can't be undone unless all three of us get purified at the same time, and purify only affects one person at a time."

Crane got three of the four antidoted he made and passed them around. "Drink up on three, one, two, three." The girls drank at the same time, and a small light passed over all three of them simultaneously. The eldest body spoke first, "I'm me again.", the Salem, "Me too," and Tonya pouted a bit. Crane turned around and knocked on the door again. When the witch doctor opened up, Crane said, "I figured out who is who, they are themselves." He looked surprised and said, "Well well, aren't you something." He motioned them to come inside and sit at a table. "Hmm, sorry about earlier, I haven't had visitors in sixty years and I wanted a little fun." Rather than be mad, Eris asked, "Why didn't Crane switch?" "Ho ho, that is because you three are the same, and he is different. You three are around the same age, the same gender, you are related by blood, and are all magicians. Which the exception of age, the blue one has nothing in common with you, so no switcheroo." Crane could see the uses and limitations, it was not all powerful, but it could be used on a horde of same type monsters to create mass confusion which can be taken advantage of. Crane now realized Eris's purpose for coming here.

Eris started again, "Let me introduce myself, I am Eris, I have come to learn how to become a witch doctor."

The old man looked at her and said, "But I am not interested in you."

Eris furrowed her eyebrows and said, "Why not?"

"Simple, crossing the mountain and larva field was a test of shorts, you did not pass it," he pointed to Crane, "He did. From what I can tell little miss, you came here without any trouble whatsoever, you did not have to fight a single monster, I know this because if someone as weak as you fought anything on this mountain, you would be dead. Yet the reason you live is because of luck, the blue one could've come here without you, but you could not have come here without him. You do not deserve the class of Witch doctor." Although what he observed was true, Crane felt what the old man had said was too harsh.

Eris collapsed onto the table, but the old man ignored her and walked to Crane, "What do you say, would you like to become a Witch Doctor?"

Crane waited a moment, but the class confirmation screen did not show up, a Kallamore Warrior can not change to a class that was not used by the royal family, and all those classes are in the Royal Kallamore Army of which Crane could never return. "I can not accept your offer."

"But why? You have great potential as a spell caster, and witch doctors use a variety of combat skills as well, you would become far more powerful."

"I agree and I would if I could, but when I say I can not accept your offer, I mean it literally, I am unable to accept your offer."

At this point the old man was curious, he asked, "Why can you not accept, does it have to do with why you have come? Tell me your story."

The man already told Eris he was interested in Crane, this man who had no one to talk to for sixty years must have been very anxious to hear a good story. So Crane said, "I will tell you my story from the beginning to end only if you agree to give Eris the witch doctor class."

"Hmm, only if you swear to return every once in awhile to share more stories."

Crane had intended to return regularly anyways to train and collect herbs so he agreed.

The witch doctor turned back to Eris and said, "hey little girl, would you like to become a witch doctor?"

Eris raised her head suspiciously and said in a quiet voice, "yes?"  
A ring of light surrounded her, and she had a surprised look on her face.

Crane began his story.

The witch doctor said, "So you seek a power to replace what you have lost from the crippling effects of being a Kallamore Warrior who does not serve Kallamore."

Crane nodded. The doctor walked upstairs and Salem said, "Woah, I can't believe you were the guy who the Archers were talking about, and I'm sorry to hear about what those noble jerks did." Salem, Eris and Tonya had listened to his entire story as well, but Crane didn't mind. The witch doctor came down the stairs and put a book on the table. Herbs of the Senbain mountains. Crane took the book and put it in his inventory. He then said, "Excuse me, but could you teach me how to harvest herbs?"  
The witch doctor said, "Sure, follow me outside." He lead him outside to an herb and said, "The trick is not damaging the roots, dig around the plant to preserve the roots and lift, not pluck,"

You learned new skill: Medical Botany.

The witch Doctor then said, "I know of something else I think you should learn."

"Yes?"

"You know of Yarsan's history?"

"Intimately."

"Then take this." He handed Crane a piece of paper with a name on it, Er'tan Eldamor, "find that person in the history of Yarsan, and he will show you the way to the power you've been looking for. I feel I must warn that the path will be treacherous, filled with dangers and all sorts of things. But something tells me you are in fact the kind of person who enjoys such things."

Crane smiled, Crane had learned many useful skills and secrets in the library, and now he had a place to start inside the restricted section.

The witch doctor lead them back to the ring of cliff fly larva and cast a paralysis spell over them so Crane and the others could pass, they thank each other and parted ways. After three days of travel over the planes, they arrived back at Yarsan, and parted ways. Crane made plans to meet with Kegan in three months, and Salem and Tonya both asked to be added to Crane's friend list. Before departing, Eris said meekly, "Thankyou for helping us get there, and for helping me get the class and well..." She quitely mumbled the rest, prompting Crane to say, "Not need for thanks, we're friends right?" For some reason this made Eris mad and she said, " Well I'll pay you back with interest! Just wait and see!" She lead the trio off and Crane went the the general store. Crane bought a large amount of paper and pens and headed for the library.

He walked up to the librarian and said, "I'd like to return this book, but I don't want to burden you, I'll just turn it in myself." The librarian nodded and bent down, opening a latch that revealed a stone staircase descending into the restricted section that was behind the counter. Crane walked down over a hundred feet, and found the door. He tried the handle but it felted looked. Crane took Herbs of the Senbain Mountains out of his inventory and tried again, this time it opened revealing a room that held about forty shelves. Crane had three months before he had to fight the level 150 Fire Cat leader or he would lose Kegan, and he needed to find every method of becoming stronger this room had to offer. Crane looked up the number on the back of the book and found the empty spot in the shelves that matched up before returning it.

Quest Complete: Retrieve the Book

-You have leveled up!  
-You have leveled up!  
-You have leveled up!

Crane remembered the numbers on the spine of the twelve volume history of Yarsan and looked for it. The books were in a corner of the back wall, but around the books were histories of other cities and countries. This meant that all there was to read about Yarsan's history had already been read by him. Crane remembered what the old man said about the name, 'he will show you the way',' and took out the piece of paper and read the name aloud, "Er'tan Eldamor."

The shelf that held the histories started to rumble, the shelf then slid back, revealing a stone hallway. Crane walked through until he found what appeared to be a modest study. There was just a table, two chairs, an empty bookshelf, and a large pile of ash in the corner. Crane realized that whatever secrets this room once contained were torched by another party, but Crane still had to look around.

Crane noticed the bookshelf was leaning just slightly to the right, he peared under it to see the left side was elevated less than half an inch off the ground. Crane carefully tilted the shelf forward and placed in on its front side. Crane went back to check and found two books, one large and one small, the large one was taller than the baseboard of the shelf bottom elevated it off the ground which was why it was leaning. Crane took both books to the table and looked at the covers, the small book had a vertical line with a triangle the pointed to the right at its center making it look like a line with a large thorn. The larger book had the name Er'tan Eldamor on its cover.

Crane opened that one, but as soon as he did, a screen like a frameless television appeared in front in front of him. It showed a middle aged man who seemed to be the teacher of three children two boys and a little girl, the scene changed to show the same man, only older instructing the one of the now taller boys on using a sword, then to a scene of the man instructing the second lad on carving a piece of wood, then to a scene of the man instructing the girl on handwriting. A slide show of movie clips was shown on the screen with the man teaching each of the three a different skill, and how they progressed and aged.

Then came a scene where all three, now early teens, were in a classroom with the man being shown a board with twenty-four symbols on it, the third of which matched the one on the smaller book. In the scene the little girl spoke up, "Where do they come from?" The instructor answered, "Boafu discovered each one and the power they contain through research and exploring. " The girl said again, "Not where he found them, where did the runes come from?" "The instructor nodded and said. "In the time before the world, Odin, father of Thor, found the world tree, Yggdrasil and sought to learn where its power came from. So he stabbed it with a spear. " The class laughed for a bit before he continued, "Well the tree was not amused, it grabbed Odin and hung him upside down facing the tree for nine days and nights. For all that time Odin could only face the tree, on that ninth day, he saw the runes. The bark of Yggdrasill has many lines of course but Odin saw that these lines formed the runes which gave Yggdrasil its great power. After grasping the truth he was released, and used the rune magic to become the first high magician. After he gained power he shared his knowledge with the world below. They were the first magicians of this world. All magic that people have today was derived from the rune magic discovered by Odin, rediscovered by Boafu, and is now being taught to you." In the next scenes, each was getting older, but their practice was different, the tip of the first boy's practicing sword now left a glow that remained, like the sword was being used to write something in the air. The second lad was now using sculpting tools to carve glowing symbols in objects, and the girl was writing the same glowing symbols on paper. Another scene and the instructor was much older and the three kids were now adults. The swordsman wrote the symbols in the air which seemed to give added effects to his attacks, the second man was at a blacksmith forge, the weapons all had a line of the symbols glowing on the blade, and the young woman was writing glowing symbols on talisman paper. A scene then appeared of the old instructor speaking to the three young adults, "My princes and princess, military advisor Joul Rotan has betrayed us, he leads an army of King Kallamore's soldiers to the city. The lady said, "But why Er'tan? Our father has done nothing wrong." The swordsman spoke up, "Because he wants power and our father's throne, but how did he convince King Kallamore to give him soldiers?" Er'tan answered, "Through fear of course, no one outside the royal family knows the secrets of the great sorcerer, Boafu's magic. The only exception is my family, which descended from Boafu's best students. Joul Rotan likely convinced the King that our magic was a threat to Kallamore." The blacksmith prince said, "So what do we do?" Er'tan answered, "The king has instructed us to do as I taught you." The scene changes to Er'tan and the blacksmith prince in the forge with a large pile of weapons which glowing symbols, then to a scene of Er'tan and the princess making neat stacks of glowing talismans. The next scene showed Er'tan, the sword using prince, and a small legion of soldiers wearing armor and wielding swords with lines of glowing symbols on them. The two lead the soldiers to skirmishes where the glowing swords cut through the mercenaries like butter, some of the swords even cast spells. Er'tan waved his sword with a glowing point and wrote a line of symbols in the air, then pointed his sword at a wave of mercenaries who were then consumed by black fire. The swordsman prince called out a strange words and extended his hand, then men in front of him fell to their knees and could not lift their swords, he then wrote a long line of symbols and called out another strange word. Lightning dropped on the group. The scenes of many battles between the the Joul Rotan's army and the royal family's soldiers played before Crane. A scene of catapults launching rocks at a wall only to be pulverised on impact with the wall unaffected switched with a scene from inside the same wall showing it was covered in hundreds of talismans, and every time a rock hit the wall, several would dissolve. Then a scene of Er'tan, now a wrinkled old man and a younger man who was crying. The crying man said, "Why did my son have to die?" Er'tan answered, "Because it is war." The man stopped crying and tightened his fists. He got up and said, "Goodbye Captain." Er'tan said, "Where are you going Roricas?" Ruffio Roricas looked back at Er'tan and said, "To end the war." The next scene was of a young man running up to Er'tan and saying, "Father! The royal family is dead!" Er'tan looked shocked and said, "Impossible, no one could have gotten through our defenses." His son shook his head, "No father, they were not killed by an enemy, they were poisoned!" The already old Er'tan seemed to age even further in the instant he realized what had happened, and said, "It is only a matter of time until they find out the weapons no longer work. To save as many lives as we can, I will surrender as the leader. " "No father!" "It is the only way they may spare the men. Take Baofu's books and hide them away." The scene ended and the screen closed. But to Crane's surprise another screen opened.

You have discovered the secret Rune classes. You may chooses to convert to a Rune class. Each class can use rune magic and has a specialty and a bonus that affects the specialty.

Crane could not believe the screen that appeared in front of his eyes. A Kallamore Warrior cannot change to any class that was not used by the Royal family, but this seemed to be a loophole. Although not the royal Kallamore family, These classes were used by the Yarsan Royal family. He looked through the list to see what he would choose.

Rune Swordsman

+Gain Rune Sword Skill  
+Gain Rune Call Skill  
+50% Attack with swords  
+50% Effect Strength Rune Sword and Rune Call

Rune Blacksmith

+50% Maximum Mana  
+Gain Blacksmith Skill  
+Gain Sculpture Mastery  
+Gain Rune Smith Skill, Immediate Use  
+50% Effect strength of Rune smithing  
-50% mana deduction when using rune smith

Rune Writer

+50% Maximum Mana  
+Gain Handicraft Skill  
+Gain Rune Write Skill  
+Gain Rune Call Skill  
+100% Effect Strength of Rune Write Skill  
-50% mana deduction when using rune write

Rune Master

+Gain Skill Rune Mastery  
+25% Attack with Swords  
+25% Maximum Mana  
+Gain Rune Sword Skill  
+Gain Rune Call Skill  
+Gain Sculpture Mastery  
+Gain Rune Write Skill  
+Gain Handicraft Skill

Now Crane had to decide which he would pick. If he choose anything but Rune Swordsman, he would lose his current +50% Attack and proficiency growth rate of sword mastery all swordsman enjoyed as well as a massive drop in sword mastery proficiney. However what interested him was the rune skills, below the selection was a list of the Rune skill descriptions

Rune Sword  
Can write Runes with the tip of sword.  
Strength of Rune effect multiplied by 100/Finesse stat  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
Mana Costs: 5 per second  
Requirements:  
Sword Mastery  
Finesse

Rune Call  
Can use Rune magic by calling out Rune names or sounds  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
300% Mana Cost to use Rune Effect

Rune Smith  
Can carve Runes into weapons and armor that grant additional options without decreasing max durability  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
For every rune carved, Maximum mana decreases by 50  
Mana returns upons item's destruction  
Effect Strength determined by Sculpture mastery  
Requirements:  
Sculpture Mastery  
Unless used by a Rune Blacksmith, Intermediate level Blacksmithing required to prevent loss of Max Durability

Rune Write  
Can write Runes on talismans  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
For every Rune written, Maximum mana decrease by 25  
Mana returns upon talisman's use  
Effect strength determined by Handicraft skill  
Requirements:  
Handicraft Skill

If Crane became a swordsman, he would be able to fight like the first prince did and call lightning from the sky or even cooler. If he became a Rune Blacksmith or Rune Writer, he could create and sell magic items anyone could use. However he would not be able to do that in Kallamore Kingdom and would have to leave, and even if that weren't a problem, he could not make an infinite amount of either because of the maximum mana deduction. That left him with two options, the rune swordsman who could take on a squad of Kallamore Knights and emerge victorious and unscathed, or the jack of all trades master of none, ironically called Rune Master.

Crane truly wanted to become a rune swordsmans, but he could not stand the thought of letting the smith and write skill be lost to him, so he said, "Rune Master."

You have selected Rune Master  
Warning! You are switching from a sword based class to a all purpose class. You will incur a penalty of -50% Total experience of Sword mastery, reducing it to beginner level [8] 35%. Will you still convert?

Crane had expected this. The game had a system in place that prevented people from using the experience bonus of different classes to increase several proficiencies by swapping classes. However all the experience he would lose could be gained back. "Yes."  
Crane emitted a bright light for a moment before returning to normal and seeing the screen that appeared before him.

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 96

Class- Rune Master

Title- None

Fame- 260

Health- 4150

Mana- 2200

Strength- 240+20

Agility- 245+20

Wisdom- 80+20

Intellect- 80+20

Vitality- 90+20

Luck- 0+20

Leadership 12+20

Finesse- XX+20

Fighting Spirit- 68+20

Perseverance 99+20

Endurance- 40+20

Attack- 180

Defense- 75

+ All stats are added 20  
+ While using a sword you receive +25% bonus to Attack  
+ +25% Maximum Mana  
+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.  
+ Can learn skills that use the stat finesse  
+ Can learn and use rune magic.  
+ Can harness true power of runes to increase variety of effects when used.  
+ As a Rune Master, you understand that all magic originates from runes, Enables you to learn modern magic spells based on your level in Rune Mastery.

You have learned new Skill: Rune Sword  
You have learned new Skill: Rune Call  
You have learned new Skill: Sculpture Mastery  
You have learned new Skill: Rune Smith  
You have learned new Skill: Rune Write  
You have learned new Skill: Handicraft  
You have learned new Skill: Rune Mastery

Crane's health and strength now surpassed what it was when he was a Kallamore warrior and his mana far surpassed his previous amount due to the fact he was now a jack of all trades part time spell caster. From what he understood, that last two bonuses of being a Rune Master would come in very handy later. The first part seemed to imply he could practically create his own rune spells, outside the rune's original uses. And the second part stated that he could learn any spell, as long as it's level did not exceed the skill level of Rune Mastery, but he was sure there would be a catch of some kind.

Crane opened the small book with what he now knew was a rune on it. Within the cover was a picture of the 26 runes and the cover page said, Thurisaz, with a picture of the same rune on the cover.

Thurisaz, 3, th  
The directed cosmic force of destruction and defense. The lightning of Thor's hammer Mjöllnir, the weapon that defends the world below and Àsgardhr above. A force against hostile powers. Directs power and force. The regeneration that follows destruction

From what Crane could tell, this book was a guide to the use of the rune, thurisaz. Crane closed the cover and put his hand on it, "Learn."

-You have learned the rune magic Thurisaz

"Show Skill window rune magic."

Rune Magic [1] 0%  
Can use learned runes to perform rune based spells and skills

Thurisaz, th, 3  
Mana cost 100

Crane understood the basics of the concept. It worked similar to Battle Aura. Crane faced an stone wall and imagined Thor's hammer Mjöllnir granting him it's destructive lightning to strike the wall, he raised his arm and said, "Thurisaz."

A bolt of lightning shot out of his hand at the wall, costing him 300 mana. He then drew his sword and said "Rune Sword," The tip of his sword glowed and Crane imagined that the sword in his hand was the powerful Mjöllnir and he wanted a bolt of lightning to shoot out the tip. He wrote Thurisaz with a slash down and a two flicks of the wrist to write the point, 71! He then thrusted through the glowing rune and it absorbed into the blade and lightning ejected from the tip. The spell was not as powerful because he needing practice writing the runes in the air, but it took two seconds to write and costed only 110 mana. Then Crane remembered what he had seen the prince do. Crane used rune sword again, 81!, but at the moment he thrusted he called out "Thurisaz!" A lightning bolt shot out of Crane's sword that was twice the size of the either of the first two. It costed 410 mana but the skills could be stacked. And hopefully the mana cost would go down with an increase in skill proficiency.

However Crane knew that Thurisaz was likely the only rune he could learn inside this room. Crane looked back at the pile of ashes and decided it was about 25 books worth. This did not deter him though, according to Er'tan, Boafu discovered each one and the power they contain through research and exploring and Crane would now have to do the same. But that was for later. Neither of the two books had a number on the spine which meant they were not bound to the restricted section so he put the in his inventory and went back to through the hall. Crane had only been down there for an hour or so and he still had three months to look through as many books as he could. "Let's get started."


	10. Vol1 Chapter10 The Last Days of Yarsan

Chapter 10  
Last days of Yarsan

One and a half months after entering the restricted section, the now Rune master Crane knocked on the latch of the door above him. It opened revealing a somewhat surprised looking librarian who said, "Welcome back, finished already?"

Crane had seen her a few times when she went into the restricted section to get a book, but she had ignored his presence there, which was only right because he was not supposed to be there in the first place. "I found what I was looking for and then some, the time for reading is over." Crane walked around to the front of the desk and said, "This will be the last time I come here. I'll be leaving Kallamore kingdom for good. " "Is that so? Well, good luck. The world out there is not as safe as a library." Crane nodded and said, "I'll be ready."

Crane went to the Dark Djinn's base and found it fairly busy with activity. The hostess walked up to Crane and said, "What can I do for you today?"

"I'm going to do something quite illegal and I'll need a partner. I was hoping you could recommend someone here for me."

"That is something I can do, however I can not as of yet do it for you. How much you can take from the guild can be no more than what you give, and you are a bit thin on that side."

Crane took out a large number of folders and handed them to the hostess. "These are records of dark secrets people sleep better thinking are kept out of the wrong hands. I'll be up in my room if you decide there is enough there to warrant some assistance from the guild on finding a partner who can help me out until my task is complete."

Crane had read every book in the restricted section at a pace he himself hardly believed. The information included political secrets, espionage records, rare artifact and dungeon locations, methods to obtain lost or hidden powers, techniques, skills, or enchantments, and all sorts of information that could turn Versailles on its head if it had gotten out, and Crane recorded it all. Of course the information he had just passed on was only the tip of the iceberg but it contained the dark secrets and hidden deeds of powerful families that could be used to blackmail them and greatly increase the guild's power. About twenty minutes after Crane entered his room he heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

The hostess gave Crane the same look one would give someone who punched King Kallamore in the jaw and got away clean. After a moment she started, "Although not all of this is news, the information we already had matched the information you gave us which seems to prove the legitimacy of the rest of it." She then entered the room and closed the door behind her. "Your request for a partner has been granted, but there is no one in the base currently who could compliment your skills. However a suitable match has been contacted and is on his way. He will be here by tonight, however you do not have to wait to meet him, from what I am aware, he is already on your friend list."

The Hostess opened the door and walked out. Crane was impressed the hostess had not asked him where he obtained his information, but then again, it was professional courtesy not to ask such question. Crane used the voice command, "Show friend list."

Friend list

-Tensford  
-Eris  
-Salem  
-Tonya

Crane clicked on Tensford's name causing some options to open up, he clicked and held on 'Whisper', said, "Hey Tensford, heard you were gonna drop by Yarsan," and released the icon.

A moment later he heard Tensford, who sounded like he was in the same room,  
-What on Versailles did you do?

It seemed Tensford did not have the same professional courtesy to not ask such questions. After receiving a whisper from Tensford an icon appeared in Crane's field of vision with the word Reply. Crane touched it and said, "You're going to have to be more specific, I've been busy since we last spoke."

-I am referring to your guild points. What did you do to get such a massive amount?

-Guild points?

-Use voice command, Show Guild Menu.

"Show guild Menu."

Guild: Dark Djinns

Status-Member

Reputation points-910

Alignment-Good

Rank- 68th

Crane's character alignment was neutral, but he had expressed his desire to stay off wanted posters so within the guild he was considered good, for now anyways. As for the rest of it, he wasn't sure what to make of it.

-So I have 910 points and I am rank 68th, what does that mean.

-Points are what the guild gives for services rendered for the guild, they are what you can redeem to the guild for favors. Rank is determined by the total amount of points you have gotten during your membership.

-Ok, so where am I at?

-To put it into perspective, getting that 50,000 gold the last time we met got me 200 reputation points. I have been in the guild for six months being an active member, and I am only ranked 72th

-So I'm above you now?

-THAT'S NOT THE POINT! Until now you have been on the bottom of the list with all the other people who've contributed nothing and in a single moment you skyrocketed with the single largest earning anyone has ever contributed at once.

-Ah, I see. Did I use up points to get you to come here?

-Yea, you used about 50 points, 40 of which go to me for helping you with whatever you need.

-So that's, how it is, well you won't be disappointed at the very least. I'll tell you whatever you want to know when you get here, and I can promise you that your trip here will be profitable.

-Is that right? Hmm, I'll look forward to it. I can't enter the city with my kind of notoriety, so we'll need to meet outside the walls. I'll contact you when I get close.

Crane thought about all the secrets he had just handed over. He did not pick them at random nor did he have any illusions about what the Dark Djinns were going to do with it. Although the points would be useful down the road, Crane had given those pieces of information expecting their uses to be carried out. In fact Crane needed the guild to act on it because it would open up doors he needed opened. Crane was going to start wars, topple governments, and end kingdoms to get what he wanted. But before that, there were a few things he needed to do in Yarsan.

Crane still had leftover supplies obtained before he went into the library but there was something else he wanted to get before meeting Tensford. Crane walked for what would be the last time down the shopping district. He saw Tanner telling a pair of tourists how the sword in his shop could cut down the most powerful of beasts but it only worked on the Senbain mountains. Crane went to Oralast's shop and said, "I need a dozen of your cheapest knives and a whet stone." After talking his coin, Oralast told Crane, "Sharpening a blade without the skill to do so will damage it, and may permanently decrease durability." "Thanks for the tip, but that is why I got twelve of them. Crane went into the Sorcerer's shop, the man had not recognized Crane from there first encounter. He gave the man a piece of paper, an order form that had a list of ingredients Crane told him he needed to buy. The merchant brought the exact quantities and Crane paid for them. The merchant gave Crane a peculiar look as Crane exited the store. He then went to a craft supply store and spent the last of money on a as much wood as he could buy.

Crane left the city walls to find where Tensford had said to meet.

At the location ,a skinny halfling in thief equipment said,  
"Well look at that outfit, pfft, You sure do look sharp! Ah hahahaha ha ha."  
Crane had gotten use to this by now so he let him get it out of his system before saying, "You're gonna help me break into the Palace of Yarsan, steal some information, and kill a nobleman."

As use to it as he was, Crane was still proud of his ability to make people stop laughing.

"You are nuts. If I try to enter the city every guard close by will try to kill me. The only way to the palace is through the military base, and even if you still had access, I don't!"

Crane waited for him to stop when he said, "Actually there are three ways into the palace. The first is as you said. The second is through the underground city. And the third is through the secret passage used by the royal family. "

"Underground city?

"Yes, a massive network of tunnels built in the war 400 years prior by the loyalist. They were used to ambush the Kallamore troops every time they let their guard down, the drop in morale was how they prolonged a stalemate to twenty years. Those tunnels are how we are going to exit that palace."

"Exit? So that mean's we're going to enter through this royal secret passage?"

"Yup, I'll show the way."

"Why can't we enter and exit through the passage?"

"There are things I need to do in the undercity."

Crane lead Tensford to the plateau's east side and began feeling the rock for the entrance. When he came across a protrusion of rock, he looked around once and said, "In the name of my Ancestor Boafu, Open the way."

The rock next to the protrusion seemed to be getting sucked in, like rocky road ice cream being sucked from the bottom of the cone. It revealed a thin passage which Crane then Tensford entered. After coming into a dimly lit hall, the passage closed behind him. Tensford looked at Crane and said, "Boafu?"

"Yea, he made this area and only his descendants or the descendants of his students could enter here. "

"Users don't qualify as either, why can you access it?"

"I'm awesome like that."

Tensford seemed to be deciding whether or not to hit him when Crane stopped at a door and said, "Wanna join my party?"

He sighed in defeat and said, "Ok."

You have created a party

Tensford has joined your party

Crane opened the door and another message popped out. 

Dungeon: You are the first players to discover Boafu's workshop  
Reward 110 Fame  
Double experience, 2x item drop rate.  
The first monster killed will drop a good quality item.

From his side Tensford said, "No way. 110 Fame huh, you can usually judge a place's level by the fame you get for discovering it. This place should have monster between level 100 and 140. Unless it is a specialty dungeon."

Crane said, "You explore a lot of dungeons?"

"Yup, guild rents me out to anyone who needs a trap buster or lock picker. I've seen my fair share but this place takes the cake."

The dungeon's interior was built of a yellowish stone that reflected the dim light making it easy to see. It looked like on of those mazes where you could walk into one passage and walk out another to find your standing sideways on a wall or looking up to see the ground. There were passageways that lead to stairs and stone hallways and basements on every floor and surface.

"Follow me and don't get lost." Crane lead Tensford to a side area that had a table with a single book on it. Crane opened the book to find the pages scribbled over and a note inside.

-To whoever finds this chamber.  
My name is Nolan. I am the last of a line of disciples that started from the great sorcerer Boafu.  
This workshop was created for the research and study of the origins of magic. Our primary goal was to trace all magic back to the runes scripts they originated from to better understand both. However, there was a complication when elemental spirits were captured and brought in for study. Rune scripts were added to them to give them a form that could be studied and they were slowly broken down. But the fragmented spirits escaped and used their forms to wreak havoc in the labs. They emanated strange mana waves that distorted the space of the workshop. As a last effort to stop them, the flow of mana within the workshop was cut off, rendering them inert. By entering this place you have reconnected the mana flow from the outside and the fragments will awaken. Although their physical forms render them vulnerable to attack, they cannot be destroyed permanently. If the body is destroyed they will reform later, making extermination impossible. However, if you can find a way to stop the fragments, the space within the workshop will return to normal, and access to the treasury will return.

After Crane finished reading a quest screen appeared 

Restore order  
You have been tasked with defeating the unbeatable mass of elemental spirit fragments that now infest the the workshop  
Difficulty C  
Reward  
Access to Treasury

This quest can be accepted by writing your name on the note

Crane had come here in search of a specific spell, and from the looks of it, he would likely find in it the treasury. Crane passed the note to Tensford and waited for him to finish reading it.

After a few moments Tensford replied, "You're kidding me.. Elemental spirit fragments? destroyable but unkillable?.."

Tensford was catching on quick, he continued, "I guess you didn't plan on heading straight for the palace. This is the perfect place to train."

Crane answered, "Yes, however I think this place will provide another source of training as well, how much is your magic resistance?"

"I got 10% resistance to water from a quest once and my armor grants 10% resistance to earth. Why ask?

"I read that a large amount of repeated attacks from pure element magic can permanently raise your resistance to that magic. The best source of pure element magic attacks is from elemental spirits. But spirits rarely attack people without a shaman directing them, so this is a one of a kind opportunity."

Tensford looked at him like Crane was talking while standing on his head. "Are you actually implying you are going to take powerful magic attacks to strengthen magic resistance?!"

Physical pain experienced in Royal Road was related to damage taken and lessened with high defense. However few characters had a large amount of magic resistance because it required unbelievably expensive equipment, tasks that were hard to come by, or came with magic based classes with higher resistance in the specialty. This meant that the pain from magic attacks far exceeded that of a physical attacks for non magic specialists, and Crane had just told Tensford he would repeatedly take powerful attacks. Although the benefits were great in the long run, no sane person would willingly allow themselves to experience such large amounts pain.

Crane was not entirely sure about whether or not he could be considered sane, but the two months of training his mind and body strengthened his resolve to take on any challenge if it was necessary. And unfortunately for Crane, this was necessary. Now that Crane was a all purpose class that neither specialized in fighting or magic, he did not receive the fast growth rate of sword mastery that sword users had nor did he receive the all around magic resistance spell casters had. If he left these two weaknesses alone he would be weak and fragile compared to other users at higher levels.

Crane had six weeks until his deadline to kill the fire cat leader Saber, he would need a about a week to finish his business in the palace and undercity, which gave him five weeks to train.

Crane nodded to Tensford and said, "I'm not asking you to do it, this is something I need to do."

Tensford starred Crane down and said, "Like hell! I'm not gonna just watch some little kid get stronger while twiddling my thumbs! I can take anything you can take, when a powerful magic attack is thrown we'll rotate who gets it back and forth, agreed?"

Crane nodded and wrote his name on the note and handed it to Tensford who did likewise.

You have accepted the Quest

The pair chose a door at random and went down the hall. They came across a large room with a large pile of gravel and dirt near the corner. The pile started moving like something buried underneath was coming out, but as the surface dirt started flowing down, the pile grew taller and taller until it was four feet high. Crane walked up to it sword drawn and said, "Dibbs on the earth elemental."

When Crane approached it as small mound started to form on the fragment's side. Crane performed Regal Guard imagining that his sword was a unbreakable shield locked into its position by the very space around it. 93! An instant later a pillar of dirt shot out the fragment's side towards Crane like a high speed battering ram. It met Crane's guard and pushed Crane back three feet before Crane's guard was shattered and Crane's shoulder took the brunt of the force. Had Crane not used all his strength to alter the trajectory the earth pillar would have hit him above the heart. The pillar receded back as Crane got up and the fragment moved closer to him. Another mound formed on the dirt pile's side and Crane performed Noble step with the imaging of moving faster than lightning. 94! The pillar extended again but Crane had moved away and to the elemental's side only to see another mound there ready to extend. Crane ducked and rolled beneath the extended pillar closer to the fragment and saw yet another mound being form on it, this time only a foot off the ground making it impossible to go under. Crane jumped up as it extended and was struck in the chest by a pillar that just extended from a mound that had formed near the top. Crane was knocked back ten feet from the blow to his chest and now only had a little over half his remaining life left. Crane imagined striking the fragment down with lightning and stuck his hand in front of him, "Thurisaz!" A bolt of lightning shot out at the elemental only to disappear within it. Tensford yelled, "What kind of amateur attacks earth with lightning? Don't you know your basics?" Now Crane felt stupid. He just wasted 300 mana for nothing. Crane's only battle experience against a magic wielding opponent ended poorly, and his own tactics when using magic were ever less than that of an amateur.

Crane pulled a weak health potion out of his bag and drank it. After finishing he felt a chill up his spine similar to when fought the blood shaman. He quickly turned to face the fragment but it had not moved since Crane took the potion out of his inventory. Crane felt a small vibration beneath his feet just before dirt erupted from the tiles beneath him and surrounded his body. It locked his movement and like a python slowly constricted him. Crane did not have the necessary strength to escape, he could not move to perform a routine that could strengthen him, and the earth spirit fragment was immune to lightning.

Although Crane's body was covered, his head was not, he turned to see Tensford, calmly watching Crane being squeezed to death, waiting for Crane to call for help like a child. After seeing the look on Tensford's face, Crane decided he would rather die, than ask for his help. But Crane wasn't going to give up yet, he had about fifteen seconds before his health reached zero, and he had until then to think of a way to escape. His only usable skills at this point were shout and Rune Call. Shout wouldn't work unless the dirt stopped constricting him for a moment and his only available rune was Thurisaz. But runes had multiple meanings and as a Rune Master he could squeeze a higher number of abilities out of the same rune. Ten seconds left, Crane remembered a line form the instruction script on Thurisaz's use. 'A force against hostile powers. Directs power and force.' Crane wasn't sure what that meant but the crushing soil could definitely be considered a hostile power. Crane imagined the force of Mjöllnir defending him and pushing against the the hostile power and yelled, "Thurisaz!"

Thurisaz buff used  
Defense +20 Damage reflection +15%  
10 seconds

Crane was covered in a yellow shimmering light and the soil stopped constricting and started vibrating. Crane realized it must be damaging itself slightly trying to constrict him. Crane used the moment to shout at the top of his lungs granting a momentary boost of strength. He threw his arms out, breaking free of the soil and jumped out of it before it could re-engulf him. He had only 43 health points remaining.

Resistance against earth magic permanently rises by 1%.

Crane was satisfied. He had grasped the spirit fragment's attack pattern and capabilities. Crane stood still and took out another potion. He pretended he was about to drink it before dashing forward as the soil erupted from where he had been standing. The fragment attacked with its body and it had a finite amount of soil. Before when Crane had been attacked by thrusting soil pillars he noticed that it could only send two at a time and had to retract one of them to produce another. The soil required to engulf him was greater than that of two pillars so if Crane could reach the fragment before its soil returned, it would be defenseless. Crane drew his sword and gave the pile a dash powered slash. DINK* The sword bounced off as Crane passed by and another pillar shot out at him. Crane dodged while increasing the distance and looked back to see where he hit the fragment. He saw the surface he hit was no longer a ever falling waterfall of soil, but a small wall of rocks with soil falling around it. A moment later the soil fell over the rocky surface as it retreated back into the fragment. Crane heard Tensford again, "Earth attribute monsters tend to have the highest defense, not surprising an earth spirit fragment would as well."

It was obvious to both of them that this being would be easier to take down as a pair, than it was to take down alone. It could not attack everywhere at once and the rocks that emerge to protect it were likely only a enough to cover one area at a time. But this was the first impression Crane was going to give Tensford of his fighting skill and he wasn't going to ask for help.

While moving quickly at a distance from it Crane drank another health potion, returning his health to a little under 40%. Crane would need to stop in place to perform any routines which could be lethal, but it was his only option. Crane stopped in place for two seconds and dashed forward a bit to dodge the soil eruption. Before the soil returned into the ground, Crane performed Noble Step, and dashed to the fragment. Before reaching it he shouted while quickly waving his left arm in front of him, throwing one of the knives hidden in his overcoat sleeve. The shout powered knife bounced off the stones that emerged from the dirt as Crane passed the side of the fragment using his movement speed boost and attacked the back in four slashes before a mound appeared on the back. Crane dodged to the side and distanced himself out of the pillar attack's reach.

Crane performed the same pattern seven more times, draw the dirt, dash from it, noble step, throw knife at front, attack back, and retreat. After another strike the dirt pile collapsed to the ground. Tensford said, "Not bad. Just from being in your party I got 5% towards my level. How you do?"

Crane had been at level 96 with 13% since he left the library. "Up 85% on level 96."

Tensford looked at Crane and said, "Hmm, only 96 huh. That guy was probably between level 115 and 120, and you beat him using magic and sword skills."

Crane knew what he was implying. If a level 100 user was a Spellsword, the strength of his sword would be the same as a level 50 swordsman and the power of his spells would be equal to a level 50 mage. Similar to how shamans who used both holy and dark magic were usually weaker than a priest or black mage of the same level, Spellswords were generally far weaker than either a swordsman or magician of the same level. If Crane had been a higher level than the earth spirit, it would make some sense, but a mixed class being strong enough to defeat a monster higher than his own level did not make sense. Crane's time in the library increased his WIS and INT which increased his spell strength and mana. His time in the training hall increased his his fighting abilities above his level which then lowered to around his level after the attack power cut from switching from warrior to rune master.

"I work out at the gym a lot."

Tensford rolled his eyes at Crane's sarcasm and said, "Last time we met you were in an army that doesn't allow users and now that you've been kicked out, you can cast magic and your sword is still sharper than most I've seen. You said before you'd tell me whatever I wanted to know. I want to know what happened to you."

Crane thought about it for a second and said, "Compromise, I'll tell you my story, and you tell me yours, I'll go first." Crane told Tensford everything from when he first entered the library to when he entered the restricted section.

"Hmmm, so is this Dessen the nobleman you wanna kill?"

"Not so fast, your turn."

"Let's see, I became a halfling because I heard they made the best thieves, I became a thief, i pickpocketed, stole, and broke into rich NPC's houses. I got caught pickpocketing once and was sent to jail for a day. The cell had a note with my name on it and a map to a warehouse. I went after they released me and got recruited by the guild there. They showed me the ropes and taught me to fight. After I got good I became the go to guy for trap filled dungeons and raised my level pretty quickly. After I rose through the ranks I put together a crew and got missions from the guild's clients. Later I met you. My crew is doing their own thing for a while so I got some time."

Satisfied, Crane told Tensford the plan and its five week deadline. Tensford took a deep breath and said, "You're completely nuts. The first part might work, I actually like the idea. But we should leave it at that. Even if what you say is true, those guys in the undercity have nothing to do with us. Doing that we'll only get us killed."

Crane said, "That's why I intend to stay here still I'm strong enough to accomplish it."

Tensford let out a longer sigh, "That would takes months and you only have one. Let's just train here till double experience expires, do your business in the palace, and return to this dungeon to train. To do such a thing in the undercity is suicide and has nothing to do with you. If you hadn't read about it you wouldn't have known or cared in the first place."

"But I do know now. Besides, an impossible mission with a worthy cause is great motivation to train with."

"But if you actually succeeded, the entire city would be turned on it's head. You said you wanted to be the good guy, you do realize how many will be killed don't you?"

"Yea, looking forward to that part really."

Tensford smiled and the pair walked into te next room.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Crane and Tensford fought against the spirit fragments of Boafu's Workshop. Each spirit type had specific characteristics, strengths and weakness discovered and exploited by the pair. The water spirit fragments were massive water blobs that were almost impervious to attack, but when a part of it was spread over a large surface area it could not retake its shape. When encountered, the pair had to smack the water out of the main body onto a distant wall where it splashed over a large area, while avoiding its pressurized water jet like punches or its engulfing technique which would drown you after your breathe meter ran out. The ice spirit fragments looked had a humanoid form made of icicles. It had an ice spike technique similar to the soil pillars that came from the earth spirit, but the body moved much faster, enabling it to dodge attacks which compensated for its lower defense. It could produce a freezing wind that practically flash froze everything in front of it, but doing so left its backside exposed to attack. The lightning spirit fragments looked like three glowing apple sized floating spheres, connected by lightning. How the spheres moved around determined how they would attack. If they lined up in a row, a lightning bolt would shoot out, if the formed a triangle and spun around, they would produce an electric field that would damage anything close, and if they actually touched you, you would be paralyzed for a couple of seconds. To beat them you had to separate the balls, the lightning connecting them sustained them but if only one was disconnected, the other two would reconnect with it, so you had to separate all three simultaneously. However if you cut the lightning stream between them with a sword, you would get electrocuted. Crane and Tensford resorted to throwing knives into the spaces between all the spheres at once. The fire spirit fragments had a humanoid outline, but their bodies seemed to be made of a mass of glowing red embers. When attacked its body burned hotter and the more it was damaged, the hotter it burned. It directed its heat into it's limbs to make flaming punches and surrounded itself in fire when the pair got close. If attacked too much too fast they could shoot flames from their limbs. The only way to defeat them without getting burned was to slowly chip away at it so as not to build up the fire within it. The wind fragments were composed of half a dozen almost transparent ribbons that moved around like a bundle of snakes in the air. They were made of highly compressed air currents that attacks by decompressing a segment that blew a gale strong enough to send either Crane or Tensford to the opposite wall. If the ribbons separated and moved in a circle a small tornado would form, and if you were unlucky enough to get caught in the center of it, you would be be damaged as you suffocated in the resulting vacuum. Slicing the ribbons would also released the compressed air, damaging the attacker, and unless the ribbons were sliced to pieces, they would slowly regenerate. The trick to fighting them was to use the released air current from one slice to propel the blade into the next one. After much trial and error, the duo could follow the movement of the air currents and slice through them with ease. The trickiest by far of the spirit fragments were the dark magic spirits. They were a hideous mass of black ropy appendages that didn't move from where they were latched onto, often a wall or floor like growing black mold. If approached the mass would extend out, latch onto and grow while pulling. Until the black mass was detached it would rapidly grow rapidly and drain it's victim's health, and as it grew it would slowly restricted movement and get heavier. If left on too long it would leave a black mark that acted like a debuff curse. The appendages had to be cut off without being touched like trimming a plant with poisonous thorns that lashed out. The light spirit fragments were the most useful to encounter. They were pairs of hard light masses that took the shape of the last thing to attack them, they had 100% magic reflection, and both healed when they came into contact with each other. When Crane attacked one it would take the form of the rapier Crane was holding and would slash at Crane. To beat they required a high degree of swordplay and as long as the two did not both attack the same person, it was manageable. If approached without the intent to fight they would do nothing, and if both were grasped at the same time, they would slowly heal the one who grasped them. Because they attacked in the same manner as the attacker, they were ideal opponents to increase skills masteries. Crane would fight against a floating Rapier, Tensford would fight against a floating knife, when the spirits were close to death the pair would allow them to heal, and when the users were injured they would grab both and heal themselves. The only issue was that you were fighting weapon on weapon, trying to break one, when one of the pair's weapons was close to being destroyed, Tensford would have to take on both at the same while Crane repaired the weapon.

After the first week, the pair had gotten use to each spirit and Crane had gained twenty levels. After the second week the pair could take any spirit but the light spirit in a under a minute, they took their time on the useful light spirit. After the fourth week, Crane had hit level 130 and either of the pair could solo any spirit other than the highest level spirits in under a minute.

Tensford said, "Well, I didn't believe it at first but the number of fragments really hasn't gone down. You figure out how to kill the unkillable?"

Crane nodded, "You remember what happened when I fired lightning at the earth spirit fragment?"

"Yea, it got sucked in.. Wait, you don't think that could work do you?"

"Only one way to fine out."

Crane and Tensford had found areas with multiple spirits before, but Crane noticed that certain spirits never appeared together, in the past month they had never seen a earth spirit and a lightning spirit next to each other. The pair looked for the closest ones and drew them into the same room. Both had strait line attacks and it wasn't difficult to make them attack each other. After that they drew closer to each other and began attacking. Lightning shot out and was absorbed into the dirt mound and soil pillars extended out and were easily dodged by the small floating orbs. The orbs started spinning in a triangle formation sending an electric field which then seemed to be drawn into the earth spirit. The orbs eventually came into contact with the mount and were sucked inside it. After that the earth mound seemed to start dissolving and retreating back into the spirit. The mound got smaller and smaller till it stopped moving.

The pair got experience for killing them and Tensford said, "Well, what happened? I get the lightning spirit dying but why did the earth spirit die too?"

Crane answered, "What if the iron in the spirit's soil got magnetized? Then it came together and couldn't separate."

"But what about the rest of it, can't it move without iron?"

"I guess not, It could be that the soil didn't move the iron, but the iron moved the soil."

"If that's how it works than the same should work for the other elements right? Dark and light are obvious, but does fire and water, or fire and ice take each other out? And where does wind fit?"

"I guess we'll find out."

The pair lead a fire spirit and a water spirit into the same room and got the water blob to water jet punch the fire spirit in the face. However the punch cooled down the fire spirit, slowing it down. The wet fire spirit did not retaliate and the water spirit continued to attack the pair. Crane and Tensford beat the both to pieces and regrouped.

"Ok, fire and water don't work, I guess that leaves fire and ice. But that would mean Wind and water cancel out, how does that work?"

"Don't know, but I wanna see it."

Again the pair lead another water blob and a bundle of mostly invisible floating ribbons into the same room and got them to attack each other. After being hit by a gale of wind, the water spirit got enraged and engulfed the mass of ribbons. The compressed ribbons fought against the incompressible water until they gave a full force explosion that looked like a depth charge going off. Crane and Tensford were both knocked down by the impact. Tensford asked, "What was that?"

"A pressurized flowing wind fought against and incompressible flowing water. Like a grenade, an outward exploding force inside a solid metal container."

Tensford looked around to see that the water was actually evaporating, meaning it would not reform and was definitely dead. "Ok, that worked. We still got a week to get them all, what do you say we take them all out now and leave a pair of light and dark to deal with last?"

"Sounds good."

The next three days followed with them leading pairs into annihilation until only two pairs remained. Crane lead the fire spirit to the room Tensford had lead the ice spirit and provoked it to send a icy gale towards the fire spirit. The embers blazed hotter in response to the attack and it slowly moved through the ice storm towards the ice fragment. The more it was attacked the hotter it got but the closer it approached to fragment, the colder the storm blew. The fire got close enough to engage in close combat and punched the Ice fragment in the face, interrupting the ice storm. The fire fragment immediately used the pause to engulfed itself in giant flames and proceeded to wrap its arms around the ice spirit. The flames got smaller and smaller and the pair collapsed into the ground. The ice melted away and the the embers died and soaked up the melted water."

"I still don't get it, why did the ice beat the fire but not the water?"

Crane answered, "Cold I guess, without the cold aspect the water would heat up, evaporate off the embers, and recondense later back into water. For this pair the embers heat up the water trying to get hot and the water cool down the embers trying to freeze."

The pair checked out the whole of the workshop after that to make sure there was only one pair left. Crane and Tensford brought the last light spirit fragment to the room next to where the last dark spirit hung on a wall. They made sure to save the strongest light spirit for last, this one was about level 145 and they fought it for four days, increasing their weapon masteries. When the time came they brought it close to the dark spirit which extended a black ropy appendages that attached itself to both of the light spirit masses and drew them in. The light responded by changing into a white vine like form that grew and wrapped around the dark spirit and followed the appendages back to the source. The light piece twisted around each other healing themselves as the dark spirit drained its health. But the glowing light of the light spirit caused the dark pieces to shrivel like dried roots, as other parts grew from absorbing health as the light spirit itself regenerated. For about twenty minutes the pair squeezed and strangled each other, slowly decreasing in size until they both disappeared.

Quest Complete: Restore Order  
You have leveled up  
You have leveled up  
You have leveled up

The workshop started to shift, like a mirage or illusion disappearing. The two found themselves back in the first room which now looked relatively normal. They split up and searched for what the note said would be the treasury.

"Crane! Over here!" Crane ran to the source and found Tensford in front of a large door. They opened it together revealing a long room with long tables at both walls. The tables had items extending along the length of the wall. Tensford stepped forward only to be stopped by Crane. "No need to rush, You and me are fairly opposite, stuff you need won't do me as much good and likewise. First we both see what everything does, and then we divide up fairly according to need." This was the second time since they met that Tensford seemed to want to kill Crane, the first time was at the village of Surrol. Tensford had seen Crane fight, was still probably a higher level than he was, and may actually have been capable of killing him. However he stepped back and said, "Fine, but we look at the items together."

Crane raised his eyebrows, "Shouldn't I be the one to say that?"

The pair walked over to the first table that had a small knife on it, Tensford said, "This one'll be mine for sure, Crane picked it up and said, "Identify."

Ancient Carving Knife  
Durability 79/130  
Damage 35-45

This millennia old knife blade has been enchanted to prevent degradation of the edge. Its durability decreases slower than average. It is specifically made for delicate workmanship.

Equip: Increases your chances of scoring a critical hit.  
None

Crane smiled and handed the knife to Tensford who looked at the stats. "What?! A carving knife?! No thanks."

Carving knives were specially made as a sculpting tool, and though they increased proficiency when carving faster than a regular knife, Tensford's own blades were much stronger than this was. They went through each of the forty some items and divided them into three piles, stuff for Tensford, stuff for Crane, and stuff to sell. Tensford's pile included a pair of critical and agility boosting knives meant to be wielded together, a cape that provided an invisibility spell with a forty-eight hour cooldown, gloves that increased luck, and leather enchanted wrist guards that increased hand based skills by two levels. Tensford's affected hand based skills included lockpicking, pickpocketing, and more he would not tell Crane. Crane's had a one handed level 150 staff that enhanced spell power, blue steel gauntlets that had decent defense and a 15% chance to reflect oncoming spells, and a pile of rings and tools. Rings are an item that can be used by anyone and under normal circumstances they would be divided between the two, but even though they each enhanced a skill by two levels, Tensford didn't want them. The reason was because they each enhanced a craft skill by two levels, sculpture, handicraft, and blacksmith. There was also a ring that enhanced Sword mastery by two levels which could be sold for a fortune, and even though it was useless to the knife wielding Tensford, it was hard to convince him to give it to Crane and not sell it. Although Tensford didn't mind Crane taking the rest, Crane had no intention of telling him that what he was taking was likely the training tools of the Yarsan Royal family. The rings, the sculpting knife, and the blacksmith hammer he found all increased skill proficiency, meaning you could make higher quality items which in turn increase proficiency faster. But Tensford had gotten the wrist guards which were also likely training tools so it was still equal between them. Crane was also certain the staff belonged to a member as well, though no one too powerful as it's requirement was only level 150. The rest of the items were either things neither needed, or neither could use. Crane told Tensford what he valued each's price at and let Tensford choose what he wanted until he had half the total value.

There was however one item Crane mislead Tensford on. A pendant with a cracked glass looking piece in the center. Crane told Tensford the truth, that it could be used to store monsters and was likely the way the all the spirits were transported to the workshop and kept until it broke and was now useless. Tensford left it for Crane who knew that although the cracked glass piece would never hold anything again, the pendant itself still held the 4 Circle magic used to create it, and if a replacement centerpiece could be found, he could use it again. A piece like he had found at Tanner's Shop long before. After his Identification skill reached level 7, he could find the properties of the glass piece and discovered it was an empty vessel. The 4-Circle magic required to make the glass vessel a useable object needed a magician around level four hundred to cast, so he had to find another way to use it. Crane had read about vessel pieces stored in Boafu's workshop, and had actually come all the way there just for that pendent. He would still need to take it to a jeweler to set the piece so the 4-Circle magic would accept the new piece though, but if it did, it would be worth more than the everything else in the treasury combined.

Chapter 10 pt2  
Last days of Yarsan

Crane and Tensford left the treasury and went to the back of the workshop that lead to a large spiral stone staircase leading hundreds of feet up. They took their time so as not to get exhausted. When they reached a door, Crane and Tensford agreed Crane should wait while Tensford scouted ahead. The thief used his cape's invisibility buff and went through the door. Ten minutes later, Tensford whispered to Crane to come through and follow his directions. Crane went through a thin hallway that lead to a wooden wall. At Tensford's direction, he pushed it out, and went through the opening. The wall was the backside of an old bookshelf that Tensford told Crane to push back into place. He then directed Crane out of the room and down a hall, telling him when to stop and move. Crane figured Tensford was invisible and in the hall as well, making sure no one saw Crane by scouting the hallways ahead of him. Several hallways a two floors later, he was directed to a door he saw move open a bit, where he entered just before it closed behind him.

Tensford reappeared and said, "That went pretty darn well."

Crane asked, "Whose room is this?"

"No one's, they keep empty rooms locked and this was the only empty room I've found so far."

They searched the drawers and found some noble looking clothing to equip. Tensford asked, "You said before we kill the guy we need information, where is it?"

"From here it should be in the next tower over on the top floor."

"Tower? Come to think of it, You can't really see the palace from the ground, you know this place well enough?"

"Yea, memorized the blueprints."

"Then lead the way."

"Not just yet, looking at four hundred year old blueprints won't tell me the security. Here, take these and make note of everything you can think of in these four areas."

Crane took out maps he made of the palace with four areas circled and gave them to Tensford. Tensford looked at the detail of the maps and said, "This'll work, how long I got?"

"Three days to find as much information about the security measures around those places as you can."

"No problem, but what're you gonna do here?"

Crane took out the carving knife and a piece of wood from his inventory. Tensford rolled his eyes and left. Crane sat on a bed and began to carve. In the real world, Crane had a hobby of whittling, the backyard of his house had mounds of wood chips that blew into the fence where it collected and his wheelchair often smelled of wood. Crane knew of sculpting in royal road after he found the guild but he had no reason to try it out here. Crane started carving a small chess piece, something simple he had done many times before. He pressed the back of the knife with his thumb along the grain of the wood with just enough force to give a controlled motion to the cut. Due to his strength stat and the sharpness of the blade both being higher than he was use to, Crane was able to quickly make a small rook with much higher detail and precision than he was capable back home. He even added parallel lines that showed the outlines of bricks on the walls. After making sure it was symmetrical he set it down and began carving a knight. The hardest part of the knight was the jawline and cheekbones of the horse. After getting the outlying shape, Crane slowly slide the tip of the knife under the jaw to the neck, then from the side to the neck, giving it a well defined face. He took extra care to make the eyes and ears before making the circular base as symmetrical as he could. Crane went on the complete an entire chessboard of highly detailed chess pieces.

Skill Level Up: Sculpture mastery [2]  
Skill Level Up: Handicraft [2]

Crane smiled a bit and continued carving, wood was fairly cheap and he had enough to last days. Crane carved familiar objects he had carved before, planes, jets, birds, and animals. Crane was not looking for skill mastery but just something to do while waiting, so he took his time, creating as much detail as he could into a piece. Each piece took from half an hour to two hours and was inspired by something Crane had seen before. After a whole day of carving, he received another message indicating his Handicraft skill had increased and a few hours later he got another level in sculpture mastery. Even though he was sculpting, according to what he read handicraft actually benefited more from sculpting than sculpture mastery did. After it hit level three Crane wanted to try something, he picked up a piece of wood and carved a small knife, the same shape as his throwing knives. After giving it a smooth handle and making it's wooden edge as sharp and wood could reasonably get, Crane carved a line with a triangle in the center pointing to the right and imagined the knife would be protected from damage. He touched the carved symbol and said, "Thurisaz." The rune started to glow lightly, and Crane's mana was decreased by 150 points, 50 of which were taken from his maximun mana so only 100 were return over time.

Wooden Knife added to Used Rune List

Crane said, "Show Skill window Rune Smith."

Skill Window: Rune Smith

Rune Smith [1] 3%  
Can carve Runes into weapons and armor that grant additional options without decreasing max durability  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
For every rune carved, Maximum mana decreases by 50  
Mana returns upons item's destruction  
Effect Strength determined by Sculpture mastery  
Requirements:  
Sculpture Mastery  
Unless used by a Rune Blacksmith, Intermediate level Blacksmithing required to prevent loss of Max Durability

After saying the command he noticed the message that appeared just before and said, "Show Used Rune List." 

Used Rune List

-Wooden Knife

Crane double clicked the word Wooden Knife on the list and yet another screen pop up

Stats

Destroy

Crane clicked Stats

Rune Engraved Wooden Knife  
Durability 20/20  
Damage 4~6  
A wooden knife usually would never be able to harm someone due to its edge lacking hardness, but this knife has had a rune applied that lowers outside damage allowing it to retain hardness for a short time

After looking over the stats of his carving he clicked Destroy to see what would happen. The rune on the knife glowed brighter and a crack appeared through the Rune and along the knife. It stopped glowing and Crane's mana bar's maximum had increased by 50, returning to normal and slowly refilling.

Crane thought about what it all meant, the skill said it would permanently reduce max durability of weapons and equipment if used without the right skill, but a wooden carving counted as neither so there was no max durability to lose, and from what he could tell, carving runes increased both rune smith proficiency and sculpture mastery. The destruction of the item also increased rune smith by just a little as well. Crane started carving runes into his sculptures, imagining they were amulets that counted as armor, and destroying them with the remote destruction to retrieve his mana.

The crack left in the wood after destroying the amulets went deep into the wood, leading Crane to start carving the rune at spots closer to the edges so the cracked part could be removed and the sculpture could be recycled into another sculpture that was smaller. Crane spent the next two days experimenting with different carving techniques that took advantage of his new strength and knife. On the last day, his handicraft skill had hit level six, his sculpture skill hit level four, and his Rune Smith skill hit level three. As Crane's sculpture mastery rose, the effects of Rune Smith increased, which in turn increased the rate the proficiency rose with use. Crane took out one of the dozen knives he had bought checked its stats 

Iron Knife  
Durability 25/30  
Damage 5~8  
A Cheap Knife produced quickly but by a skilled smith

Crane then took out the whet stone and began sharpening the knife. He slide the edge across the stone a few times and got a message. 

Iron knife's durability has decreased

Crane stopped before he permanently lowered the durability and said, "Repair."  
He checked the stats to see the knife's stats received a +2 to attack. Crane then took out his carving knife with with great effort and precision he carved the rune lightly into the blade of the knife.

Iron knife's max durability has decreased

Crane put his finger on the rune and imagined it was as strong and Mjöllnir and would protect itself from damage.

Iron Knife added to Used Rune List

Crane used Identify on the knife once more

Engraved Iron Knife  
Durability 15/15  
Damage 9~12  
A Cheap Knife that a rune has been carved into by someone with little skill, permanently decreasing durability. The power of the Rune damages hostile powers directed at it and reflects damage taken, decreasing the rate the weapon loses durability.

Knife sharpened by an unskilled Craftsman  
+2 Damage

Crane had originally gotten the whet stone so he could sharpen one knife and use it to carve a rune into another, but now that he had the sculpting knife he wanted to try something different. Sharpening bonus usually lasts a single battle and Crane wanted to see if the Knife would retain the bonus longer after receiving the rune.

Crane was surprised the results were as good as they were, but that was most likely due to the effect of the handicraft skill, which slightly raised the effects of all other Craft skills each time its level increased.

-Hey Crane, it's time.

Crane returned the carving knife to his inventory and swept the wood chips under the bed.

-Okay, am I clear to leave the room?

-Yes, if you're wearing those noble clothes the guards wont suspect you even if they see you leave the room. It is safe to walk to the rotunda, meet me there.

Crane left the room and went to the stairs. He knew where everything was so he took the shortest path to the auditorium sized room that connected to the main building and the throne room. The palace had five noticeable parts, four exceptionally thick towers and the main building they surrounded. Both east towers were housing for staff who worked at the palace, Nobleman who ran the city and made laws, and guests who visited the palace such as foreign diplomats. The north West tower, opposite his position, was where most documents would be kept. Floors of rooms filled with papers and documents. The last tower, the south west one, had the offices of the nobleman politicians. The main building had the King's quarters, the king's offices, the king's room, the Throne room, the Rotunda, and the large dinner hall with a table hundreds of feet long. Crane's first stop was the north west tower, he needed access to the documentation there. He passes two guards who looked at him as Crane passed but did nothing. Crane made his way to the rotunda where many stair cases met to go to each tower and had many nobleman mingling with one another. Crane saw Tensford next to the stairs leading to north west tower. They walked up the stairs together and Tensford took the lead. For the past few days he had monitored the exact position of the guard's movements and in a low security area like the records hall, he could direct Crane to the room he needed to get to without encountering a single guard. Tensford picked the lock and they closed the door behind them. Crane asked, "How often does this room get used?"

Tensford answered, "The documents get collected from everyone at the end of the week and brought here, they came yesterday."

"Perfect. Now I know this wasn't apart of the original deal, but I need a favor. Do it and I'll own you one."

"I'm listening."

Crane took out the book Thurisaz he got from the library and handed it to Tensford. "What I am doing here will take all day, while I'm doing it, I need you to check the palace for books like these. I'll circle on the map all the most likely locations they could be. If you don't want to, then you will have to occupy yourself somehow while I'm working. I can lend you my carving knife if you want."

Tensford snatched the book from Crane's hand and looked at the map. "The King's study? You don't ask much do you?"

"There and a room on the top floor of this tower, that room has the records from the time before the fall of the high magician royal family."

Tensford left the room and Crane started opening drawers. The document rooms were sorted by time and the room he was in had the most current events. However this would not tell anyone what a person was going to do, only what people already did, they were basically public records only in a little more detail and stored together. Crane was looking for the nobleman who gave orders to he former commander Dessen. The same person who was likely responsible for putting in motion what happened to his subordinates. Crane was going to kill this man.

Crane found the military records and order forms. After putting together bits and basically reading between the lines, Crane found the man who Dessen was loyal to. He found evidence of this being the man who assigned Dessen's crew of noblemen who were sent to the village of Surrol. After a bit more digging Crane even found a record that stated one of the people under this man claimed to be ill and went to an apothecary. The illness he had could be cured by a tonic that included an ingredient that reacted poorly with powerful spider poison, and that man ordered an unusually large amount of the tonic.

With a clinical detachment, Crane collected documents of every single recorded action the man had done over the past year and read them in great detail. Crane had gotten out several sheets of paper and begun writing on them, practicing. After getting the hang of it, and with his decent handicraft skill, Crane was able to copy the man's handwriting perfectly. Crane got out an expensive looking journal and opened the first page, he signed it with the nobleman's name and started the journal. Crane wrote detailed entries for each meeting and scheduled event that occurred from a year before hand to the present date. After almost an entire day of looking through records, Crane's journal entries under the man's name caught up to the present day. Crane had added his own touches to the book, he included nothing illegal what so ever, going so far as to make the man seem to be a model Noblemen whose primary interests were in helping his fellow Kallamorians. Anyone who read it and knew the man would likely know it to be fake but Crane knew they would not come forward. People would not dare to speak ill of the dead for some time, long after his plan had come to fruition. Throughout the book Crane added fake entries about the nobleman discovering hidden secrets. First it starts off with him discovering discrepancies between reports and thinking nothing of it. Later the fake entries built on the nobleman investigating the reports. Closer to the present the nobleman finds evidence pointing to one man behind the discrepancies. The fake entries build on the discoveries to indicated the man behind the discrepancies had falsified reports and was behind numerous crimes as well. The final entries include current plans and an fake entry that claimed he was going to turn all the evidence of the man's crime over to the Head of the military. Captain Dessen was going to know the pain Crane had suffered. When Crane closed the book a message popped up.

You have learned new Skill: Forgery

Unexpected, but welcomed, Crane put every single piece of paper exactly where he found it to leave the place just like it was when he arrived.

-Tensford, it's time time to go

-Alright, found two books with them runes on 'em. Only two though, there isn't a single other one in the whole palace, I guarantee that.

Crane was ecstatic, he had not actually expected there to be anything in the palace after seeing the ash pile in the library, but it looks like there was something overlooked.

-That's incredible, where did you find them?

-Easier than I thought, I was probably the first theif to ever enter the King's study and I noticed a the bookshelf had a secret compartment. Found one in there, there were another one in that records room. Though after hearing how you got all them guild points I decided to look through some good stuff in there and wrote it down.

-That's fine, just make sure you don't leave a trace, I need to get into southwest tower now

-Alright, I'm on my way

Tensford opened the door and lead Crane back out the way they came in, making sure not to be seen by a single guard. Before returning to the rotunda Crane told Tensford to use his invisibility of he had it. Surprisingly enough he did, he had spent the last day sneaking through the most well guarded place of Yarsan without using the skill. They made it back to the rotunda and went up the stairs to the southwest tower. The entrance was blocked by a guard. Crane walked up to him and said, "Where was the man who was here before?" Although Crane had never been there he was implying he had passed through this door before. The guard said, "Sayves left duty a while ago." Crane nodded and said, "I see, then I must introduce myself again, I am the messenger of my lord, Atticus Denjak. I am assigned the task of representing him in the negotiations of the the merchant investment group The Silver Seven. I have relayed the entire meeting to my lord and have to return to the meeting room on the third floor to deliver my lord's proposal. I know my way in." The guard's eye's widened at several names Crane had thrown out and with good reason. Reading the documents in that room gave Crane an intimate understanding of the most powerful groups in Yarsan. And with the exception of Crane being the messenger, everything he said was true. According to the record books there was a meeting between the merchant guild's invest group the Silver Seven and the finance council members, and the representative, Atticus Denjak, was in fact at the palace now to discuss an investment. However that meeting was not for another hour. The man opened the door and let Crane in. From this point Crane could not bee seen, a guard was one thing but if anyone inside the tower who knew what was going on asked Crane what he was doing, Crane would have to kill him. Tensford lead Crane to the the study of Gnat Agsny, the man who hired the Dark Djinns to hold Turrol for ransom and the man responsible for killing Crane's men. Tensford picked the lock and they entered the empty room. Gnat would be in the room in half an hour according to his scheduled. He would be meeting another politician who was apparently trying to get his son out of the mandatory term of service in the Yarsan Army. Such things were popular and easy if you went to the right man. Crane found a cup in the room and began his work. He had obtained herbs and ingredients at the sorcerer's shop and began mixing the potion. Tensford said, "When you said you would kill him, I thought you meant with your sword."

Crane smiled. "He will die by a sword alright, but if it was mine I would receive a murderer's mark."

"So you poison him, and someone else kills him.. How does that work?"

"Berserker potion. When used in battle it increases all attributes but makes the user more aggressive. I added a couple extra bits that will make the user totally lose control. They will become stronger and go on a rampage for about six minutes."

Crane took the cup he found and poured the potion into it and swirled it around for a few seconds before pouring it out. Crane twirled the cup around for a few more seconds and handed it to Tensford. The thief looked at the inside and saw a almost invisible film of the potion that dried inside the cup that would mix with whatever was next put in it. Tensford asked, "If someone else kills him, how are you framing Dessen for it?"

"When I bought the ingredients I handed the merchant a note that said, 'By order of Captain Dessen, obtain these ingredients,' with a list of the ingredient. To any other merchant that would be meaningless, but I bought the ingredients at a place where the guys mixes his own potions. He'd know what could be made with those ingredients and I left the paper there. I also have this." Crane held up the phony journal. "This very subtly points out that Dessen would be this man's enemy."

"I see, well then, should we watch the show?"

"I'd like you to watch and make sure it goes through after escorting me out, I need to get started in the undercity, meet me there afterwards, the entrance marked on your maps."

"Alright, but before you forget, here."

Tensford handed Crane three books, Thurisaz, one similar to the Thurisaz book that had a single vertical line on it, and a much thicker book that had a circle of all 24 runes around it. Before leaving Crane held up the larger tome and said, "Where was this one?"

"That was the one I found in the king's study."

Crane wasn't sure what to make of it but he did not have time to read the instructions for the use of the rune. He put both books in his inventory and Tensford lead them back to the rotunda. From there he went to the south east tower and down to the lower basement. According to what Tensford had told him, guards were not allowed in here because the people who came and went wanted to remain anonymous and not be seen coming and going from their rooms in the tower to the undercity. The basement had a powerful illusion spell cast on it that prevented people from seeing the entrance without knowing it was there. Crane walked to a segment of the stone wall between two vats of aging wine and touched the surface. His hand fell through, revealing the passage. Crane walked through the wall into a brightly lit hallway that lead down a flight of stairs to a room with three wooden elevators, each with a man in a red suit standing on its platform. Crane stepped onto an elevator and the man pulled a lever. The wooden platform started to descend, faster that he though it would. After about two minutes he had reached the undercity beneath the ground level of Yarsan.

Crane Walked down the ancient stone hall passing a group of nobles on their way back to the elevator. Loud sounds of people cheering and music being played echoed down the hall, getting louder then further he went. The end of the hall opened to a room larger than a football field filled with people sitting around tables filled with cards and chips. Beneath Yarsan was Kallamore Kingdom's largest Casino, where the wealthy came to drink, gamble, and socialize. Crane walked by a set of roulette tables and and dining tables where people ate, laughed, and chatted. There were dozens of tables, most with cards on them but although most appeared to be either poker or Black Jack, several seemed to be card games Crane did not recognize. The cards were upside down and arranged in a triangle. People would take one card out without showing it and place a card they had in their hand in its place, also upside down. After everyone replaced a card the dealer would flip the three corner cards and another round of replacing would occur. Then the dealer would flip the rest of the cards and the players would place there hands down. Crane had no idea how the winner was determined. Crane continued walking past the tables of gamblers and to a section blocked by a metal gate and a man at a counter. The man saw the young Crane in the nobleman's outfit and said, "Young sir, would you like to place a bet?"

Crane said, "Is this where the Nightmare games are held?"

The man wave his head and said, "No no sir, this is where the tournaments are held, the nightmare games are down that hall and past the red doors."

Crane had no money so obviously he could not place a bet on a contestant, but he had time to kill until Tensford reported on the outcome of Crane's plan.

"Are there any open slots for the tournament? As if so is there a fee to participate?"

The guy now seemed to be sizing Crane up, he asked, "You do your service in the Army?"

Crane said, "Yes, my officer's uniform in storage at the moment, but I have equipment to fight in."

"Oh, an officer huh? Alright kid, you can enter, I'll even wave the fee. But there are no guarantees of your safety."

"That is fine. When does the tournament start?"

"In fifteen minutes, head through the gate and tell the guy there you'll be number eight."

Crane walked through the gates and found a thick barbarian wearing armor. "Hi, I'm number eight."

The man looked down slowly and raised his hand to point to his right and said, "Wait in that room." Crane went to his own left to the fairly large room and sat down. Crane opened his inventory screen and equipped his gear. He had fifteen minutes till it started and another five minutes after that till his target Gnat was set to go crazy. After finishing equiping he saw his newest rune book took it out. He opened it up and started reading. 

Isa, 11, i  
The ice that flows forth from Niflheimr, the afterlife of those who did not die a heroic or notable death. The energy that slows down fire. The force of attraction, gravity, inertia, and entropy. Halts unwanted dynamic forces. Power of control and constraint over nature spirits. Develops concentration and will.

The book was, just like the first, filled with cryptic meanings that had to be interpreted. Crane got that ice magic could be used but if he understood the meaning correctly then it could also be used to inflict Slow on target, or possibly even Stop. After reading the second to last line Crane had a small regret he did the spirit fragment dungeon before he got and could test out the power of control and constraint over nature spirits. But he let it go because it may not have affected the fragments anyways. Crane put his hand over the book and said, "Learn."

You have learned the Rune magic Isa

Now he needed to check the mana cost. "Show Skill window rune magic."

Rune Magic [1] 78%  
Can use learned runes to perform rune based spells and skills  
Original Power Determined by wisdom

Thurisaz, th, 3  
Mana cost 100

Isa, i, 11  
Mana cost 150

The elemental spirits took more damage from physical attacks than his lightning spell so he did not use it in the dungeon. Most of the experience he got was likely from practicing rune carving. Crane raised his hand towards the back wall of the room he was in and imagined his hand was the heart of the ice world, releasing its frigid air to this world, "Isa!"

A black wave passed out of Crane's hand and moved forward to the wall. It passed through a chair and finally dispersed against the wall. The chair was covered in frost as was the wall, like someone opened the door of a mountain cabin during a snow storm. When first emitted the wave was small, the size of Crane's palm, but it increased as it went further and was larger than Crane was when it hit the wall about eight feet away. The only problem was the speed of the wave. It moved faster than walking person but not a running person. Crane wanted to skip just using his sword so he brought it out and tried the stacked combo. He used rune sword to write a single vertical line and imagine a harsh and fast wind of the ice world coming from his sword. "Isa!"

Another black wave shot out but it was much faster and shot continuously for over a second. Because it was faster it did not expand as much before hitting the wall but the second of continuous use caused the effected area of the wall to build up about two inches over an area two feet in diameter. Crane wanted to experiment more but he had to let his mana return before the tournament. To pass the time he whispered to Tensford.

-How's it going?

-Boring so far, I'm watching some nobleman plead to the Gnat guy about how worried he is over his little punk's safety.

-He drink anything yet?

-Don't worry, he is boiling a pot of tea now. He actually bragged that it was some rare expensive imported kind, he won't be sharing it.

That was one worry done, Crane's biggest problem was that someone else would use the cup, if that happened then due to the nature of what kind of man Gnat was, the effected person would most likely instantly desire to kill Gnat himself, but there was a possibility of him being stopped and killed by the guards before he did so.

-Alright, tell me when he pours the tea

-Why didn't you just put that potion on a blade and throw it at him like you did my lacky?

-Evidence. No way to do that and not leave a trace. When he drinks that tea, the evidence will erase itself. People won't be able to know when someone gave him that potion or how, which prevents Dessen from having an alibi. Whenever he last came to the palace, they will assume that is when he did it, and nothing will be able to prove otherwise.

-So that's why you wanted us to leave no trace behind. So what are you doing now?

-Been fighting non humans too long. I found a tournament and entered it, It'll make a good warm up before the real show starts.

-That so? Well don't get killed. If you die down there I'll just head home.

-Meh, I'll be fine.

The door to Crane's room opened and the barbarian came through. He looked at crane and said, "Show time kid."

Crane was brought to a large room with four large square platforms separated by an iron gate. Set above the ten foot stone wall around the area was another iron gate with rows of seats behind it. Crane felt a little like a gladiator as he was lead to a platform where another contestant stood. On the other side of the gates were three more pairs each standing in their own platform. Crane's opponent held two short swords and wore light armor. He was a younger man and when he looked at Crane, he smirked, likely thinking that fighting someone so much younger than himself would literally be, child's play. An booming voice came from a man in near the entrance, "We have a great show for you today, eight contestants, one victor. You know the rules, you lose if you give up, step outside the ring. Of course you also lose if you Die! Ladies and Gentlemen of the audience, this is your last chance to place a bet."

Crane thought that anyone who bet on the dude in front of him would be sorely disappointed. Now Crane had to decided whether to kill him or throw him out of the ring. Two sides of the ring had hard iron gates on the but the other side of it was open. He thought it might be better to decide after he got to know his opponent a little. Crane took out his sword and raised a foot slightly, performing Noble Step, with the intention of moving faster than a lightning bolt and smoother than the wind. 95!

A minute later the announcer said, "Final bets are in, Let the Matches Begin!"

Crane's opponent dashed at Crane with his swords at his sides. Crane wanted to give his opponent the impression that he was faster than Crane, but Crane's movement speed was heightened by Noble step enough to make the dual wielder look like he was standing still. Crane had more than enough time watching him dash to think of how he was going to finish him. Crane decided to win through 'Luck.' Crane stepped forward pretending he was going to slash his sword but 'tripped' over his own feet falling over into a roll that went under the dual wielder's blades while 'accidentally' slicing the mans's leg with Crane's sword as Crane tumbled past him. With a slowed down time perspective Crane was easily able to roll forward while moving his blade into potion to slash all while making the whole thing look like it was not on purpose. The swordsman fell from the strike to his leg and with Crane already on the ground, the crowd started laughing around him.

Crane got up and pretended to look embarrassed while the other man did the same, though not pretending. He looked extremely annoyed and slowly walked forward with his swords drawn, one to the left at Crane and the other closer to the man pointing up making the two blades look like a cross. Crane stepped forward to meet the man as he slashed at Crane with one sword, stepped forward, and slashed at him with the other sword, alternating his stance with each step. Crane parried each strike by performing a strike at the diagonal. Usually he would start using twelve forms at this point but his own swordsmanship has increased greatly while training so that it was not necessary to take on this opponent. Crane stepped back in a purposefully clumsy fashion as the man stepped forward with each slash. The man's motions were too large and he would tire himself quickly if Crane dragged out the match, but he wanted to end it with 'luck,' so he let the man lead Crane to the edge of the ring. At the edge Crane stopped moving back which stopped the man from moving forward forcing him to keep a consistent stance and attack pattern. The pattern seemed to be the twelve forms but it was adjusted to be used with two swords and was not actually a skill. The swordsmanship however had a major weak point, it only had one range. The only skill that man had used was dash to close in to his range and when Crane rolled under him before the man could do nothing. His attack pattern required his opponent to be at middle range, not to close, not to far. If this man had faced a magician, a monk, or a reasonably skilled swordsman he would lose ten times out of ten. That last thought made Crane want to learn some hand to hand combat skills later but for now he had to defeat this man with 'luck.' Crane had the pattern of attack down and started using less energy while parrying, making it look like he was running out of energy. The man was also running low, so to finish the match his raised his output to end it quickly. Crane then allowed one of his parry motions to fail, getting sliced in the chest and losing a small amount of health. He used the opportunity to pretend to fall back and grab the hand that held the sword that just slashed him. Crane pulled it hard pulling himself forward while pulling the man back. Crane pulled the arm to his side and behind him, getting him back on the platform while forcing the swordsman to take a step off and get disqualified.

The crowd started laughing again and the announcer said, "Ring four's match is the first to finish, what an unsatisfying end for the young duelist!"

The man looked back at Crane with unreadable eyes, he had realized Crane's true skill and knew Crane could've killed him at his leisure. Crane heard the announcer say, "And area three has given us our first kill!"

Crane looked to the platform next to him to see a bald, middle aged man in half-plate armor wielding a great sword, retract it from the torso of a female mage. The contestant disappeared and the crowd went wild. Most of the citizens of Yarsan preferred Might over Magic, even at the expense of a young girl. At that point Crane decided he ought to practice his rune magic, on the very brute who just shishkebabbed the poor mage. Before the fight in the other two areas were finished, the iron gate between Crane and the great sword wielder was pulled back. It seemed there would be no down time between matches. Crane held out his sword and waited for the man he now recognized as Defender class to step forward. The Defenders specialize in defensive forms and power attacks making them a class you don't want to get close to. The armor he wore required a minimum of level 100 but Crane suspected the man was at least level 120 if not 130. Crane would be more than a match for him with his own strength forged in the training hall, but he wanted to beat him with magic. When the Defender stepped over the boundary line between Crane's area and his own Crane used Rune Sword and wrote the rune, Thurisaz, with the image of the lightning of Thor's hammer smiting Crane's foe. 95! Crane thrust through the rune which was sucked into his sword and directed to the point which shot out a powerful lightning bolt. Crane's class granted +20 to all stats and finesse and he wielded Owen's Rapier which granted +10 to finesse so the effect of the spell had at least 130% strength of just calling it at a third of the cost. The Defender was surprised that someone with a sword would cast a spell and took the bolt unguarded. Crane could see static passing through the man's steel armor, a sign he had been paralyzed. Crane used rune sword again but this time he wrote a vertical line in the air, then another next to it, and a third. Crane then imagined the icy breathe of death itself being blown form his sword whispering in the ear of the Defender to go to sleep eternal and shouted, "Isa!" 105! All three runes were sucked into the sword, and after the stacking effect of multiple runes and amplifying effect of Crane's rune call, the tip of the sword shot out a fierce black wind for about 10 seconds. Writing multiple runes with Rune sword added to the power while stacking with Rune call doubled it, although that attack costed Crane about 1000 mana, the Defender was now completely encased in ice over three feet thick.

Skill Level Up: Rune Magic [2]  
Skill Level Up: Rune Sword [2]

The defender was not dead yet but his health was slowly declining. He could not speak to say he gave up, so until he died the match would continue which gave Crane some time to recover his mana before the final match. Crane heard the announcer say, "What is this?! The reigning champion who has not lost since his debut two months ago is completely covered in ice!"

One attribute that Isa had was that it slows most processes. The defender's declining health would actually be declining slower than it would if encased in regular ice. It also had an effect of maintaining a state, meaning it actually increased the defender's already high defense by a lot. While he very slowly froze to death, he was practically invulnerable. Crane walked over to the gate to see another match had been completed. A knight looking swordsman had finished off an Archer after skillfully dodging rapid fired arrows for a few minutes. "Ohhh, and in ring two, the archer falls to the knight's sword!" The crowd goes wild again, basking in the superiority of the melee class most popular in Kallamore kingdom, the Kallamore Knight.

The last match had what looked to be a paladin fighting a Black Mage. The paladin's weak holy magic kept the mage's curses at bay, while the mage's powerful black magic attacks kept the Paladin at a distance. Before their match was over, the gate between the knight of the other area and their own area opened. The knight ran over to the balck mage, appearing to want to take him out first. The mage saw this and cast a magic which made his staff glow. The two swordsman were blinded for a moment as were the audience members. When everyone regained their sight the area had two large monsters in it, a terror bird and a mountain troll. The monsters spotted each other and started to fight. The nine foot tall terror bird bit large chunks out of the troll's arms and neck while the eight foot tall, four armed troll smashed and punched the bird who skillfully dodged a majority of the hits. After five minutes the two were fighting more sluggishly and before the troll could delivered the final blow, it was struck by a black lightning and fell, followed by the terror bird. The attack seemed to come from no where, but after they both fell, the black mage appeared from nothing and the two monsters were revealed to be the paladin and the knight. The black mage attacked them once more and finished them off. The announcer yelled, "This is a first ladies and gentle man, the final contestants are two magic users and the champion, and the champ is still frozen solid!"

The defender would be gone in another minute but before that the gates between the two areas were removed and more gates were brought in and placed around the entire four platform arena. It seemed the last match could only be to the death. The mage rose his staff again and another bright light blinded the audience. The announcer yelled, "This is unbelievable! There are over a dozen copies of the black mage in the Area!"

The illusion magic the mage had worked so hard to discover and learn made it's targets see whatever the caster wanted them to see. He had stalled for time before until the the battle next to him was over so he could make the two fighters weaken each other before he killed them off himself and now he would curse and kill Crane without him being able to counter attack. Crane performed noble step as the dozen black mages approached him and waited for the right time to strike. Each black mage raised his staff and a black energy began to from around it. The moment the staff fell and a black lightning shot out the tip, Crane disappeared. A noble step enhanced Dash made Crane move so fast people could lose track of him with their eyes, Crane had moved behind the real black mage and taken his Majestic Stance. Before the mage even realized that Crane was no where in front of him, Crane started twelve forms and rapidly hacked away at the mage's back.

CRITICAL HIT!  
CRITICAL HIT!  
FATAL HIT!

A problem with illusion magic learned by a non specialist is that the caster is not immune to his own illusions. The mage saw all his copies and made the mistake of putting most of them in front of him. Crane moved at the exact movement the wall of black magic obstructed the mage's vision and moved to his back. The mage could not confirm what happened to Crane because there were too many copies in front of him. The mage's guard was completely down, not only due to his over confidence but he had also made himself invisible, so he thought he could not be hit by Crane anyways. However unlike the black mage, Crane had obtained a respectable level of Light Magic Resistance, due to the fact that he fought the light spirit fragments longer than any other. Crane could still see the illusions but he could also see the truth behind them.

With a lowered guard and sub-par defense even for a mage, Crane had killed him before he even understood what had happened. The illusions had disappeared and Crane noticed that the Defender had died within the ice block. Again the announcer yelled, "What Happened?! I didn't see it! One moment the mage had sent a wall of black lightning at the young spellsword and the next he is killed by the spellsword from behind! This is unbelievable!"

Crane walked around the arena and collected some items the other dead men had dropped. He went to the edge of the cage where it opened, allowing Crane to pass. Near the exit was the man Crane had humiliated. Next to him was a pair of knights who wore equipment that required a minimum of level 200. The man said, "I bear no grudge against you, but my brother would like to talk. Follow me."

Crane was lead out of the area back to the casino and to a back room. The duelist said, "Please wait here, my brother will be with you shortly."

-Hey Crane, good news, Gnat is dead.

With the tournament Crane had almost forgotten but the news was as good as it could be.

-Tell me everything.

-Alright, after the pleading nobleman begged Gnat to help get his son out of his mandatory service in the army. Gnat began negotiating the terms. Basically squeezing everything he could out of the dude. After awhile the poor guy had agreed to hand over a large amount of property and money, as well as basically swear his loyalty to Gnat. Gnat made sure the guy understood that Gnat could blackmail him over this at anytime. Gnat basically made him write away ownership of his dignity. After the man signed everything, Gnat poured a cup of tea and drank it, commenting on how sweet it tasted. He probably meant that victory made it taste sweeter. I was surprised that you actually made it taste good.

-Yea, I couldn't remove taste completely but I was able to make it taste something like powdered sugar.

-Nice, anyways, after a few seconds Gnat began yelling at the man, insulting him violently, calling him pathetic and getting angrier and angrier. His voice echoed down the halls. Gnat grabbed a plaque on his desk and started beating the guy with it. It actually broke in his hand, you weren't kidding about increased strength. Gnat started to beat the crap out of the guy who had screamed for help like a little girl, which actually seemed to make Gnat madder. Three guards came in tried to restrain Gnat. They had been on their way since Gnat started yelling. Gnat actually overpowered one of the guards and took his sword, he was about to slice the whimpering nobleman in two, before a guard ran him through with his sword. Whatever health boost that potion gave him is probably what kept him alive after that, but I could tell the potion was starting to wear off. You should've seen the look on Gnat's face. Pure terror and confusion, that everyone in the room could see. He died and vanished and the guards asked the nobleman in the corner what had happened. After telling the whole story, I know I heard one of the guards say the word 'Berserker'. After hearing that I slowly crawled away through the roof. I'm in the basement you circled in the map, where is the entrance to the undercity?"

- It is along the wall where the wine vats are located, between the two big ones. I am apparently about to meet someone who wants to meet me.

-Ahh, by the way, how'd the tourney go?

-Not even a challenge, but it good enough for a warm up. Find something to occupy yourself when get down until I need you.

-Hmm, you said Casino right? Im sure a guy who can pickpocket can find some way to occupy himself in a casino filled with rich nobleman who can't even remember how much they've won or lost.

Crane smiled and heard footsteps approach the door. The duelist emerged with a the man who gave Crane his second quest since starting Royal Road. The man who called himself Torres walked up to Crane and said, "We meet again little book worm."

Torres took a seat and said, "You made me a lot of money just now. You see everybody bets on their favorites and no one bet on you. When I was told some unknown kid with the rank of officer had entered my tournament I decided to have a look. I must admit I just barely recognized you in that outfit. So, what brings you to my casino?"

Crane asked, "Your casino?"

"Ah of course, I have yet to properly introduce myself, I am Torres Roricas, owner of the finest gambling establishment of all the cities of Kallamore, the Grand Yarsan Casino."

Crane nodded in understanding. The feeling he got when he last saw this man was likely from the fact that this guy was basically the head of the criminal underworld of Yarsan. This however worked in Crane's favor. "I see, well I came here for something and if you are the man in charge, I think we can make a deal."

Torres put on a fake smile and said, "You came here to make a deal with me? Hmm, well first I'd like to know how you got here. You see this is the kind of place you don't get into by chance. If you got here then someone told you how to get here."

Torres would not believe that Crane had read about it in secret documents that no one should be able to look at so Crane had to come up with a reasonable lie. "You know Geoffry Xander Cornilius Koritan right? I was apart of the team that collected the Queen Grass Beetle larva. During the mission he was like an older brother to me, so we became pretty close while Levi helped me get stronger. Before we parted Geoffry told me about the Nightmare games and the casino entrance outside the west wall of Yarsan. This is actually my first time here. This place is amazing."

The story was not totally unbelievable, if Geoffry's dislike of people older than him was known, then the fact that Crane was younger than his would give credibility to the story as long as Torres didn't know the little nobleman well. Even if he did, only Geoffry or Levi himself could refute the claim. Torres would likely check it out later, but by the it would be too late.

Torres said, "Really? You went into the heart of the Digger's Depths to get that thing?"

Crane corrected, "Burrower's depths sir. I even got a knife from the body of the queen after Levi killed it."

Torres's eyes widened a bit. "Show me this knife."

Crane calmly took it out and handed it to Torres. He stared at it for a while and said, "This knife was my father's. He was killed down there when I was a child."

Crane saw an opportunity, "Is that so, I have no great attachment to that blade. Please take it as a token of goodwill."

Torres pocketed the blade. This was a big score for Crane, besides gaining favor from Torres this also confirmed he had truly been in that quest which made his story more believable.

Torres started up again, "You are an interesting person. First you help me at the library, you spare my brother's life and actually teach him some humility in the tournament, you skillfully take out two incredible opponents almost instantly, and now you return to me a memento of my father. You say you can down here for something. Tell me what it is."

Crane had gained a lot of favor but it still wouldn't be enough to get the man to agree to letting Crane do what he needed to do. He had to build up to it first.

"I want to work for you. I have skills no one who works for you possess."

Torres seemed amused that Crane could do something no one else who worked for him could do, but he played along. "Truly? What is this great talent you possess?"

Crane took a deep breath before revealing the skill that would give him access to the area he needed to be.

"Alchemy. I can create potions of a high quality."

Torres's poker face slipped for a moment revealing sincere surprise before returning to normal. The craft guild's monopoly on alchemists was supreme. Torres asked, "How did you acquire the skill, you are too young to be allowed to join the Craft guild."

"An old witch doctor on the Senbain mountains. He is over two hundred years old and practically predates the guild. However I will not tell you his location, for the same reason you would not tell people where you get your own resources."

Torres's face hardened for a moment at Crane's implication. "And what resources do you refer too?"

"You know what I speak of, it is the reason I have come, I wish to experiment on the uses of Ekril blood in alchemy."

Crane had officially crossed the point of no return, whether or not he could leave that room alive depended heavily on what happened next.

Torres slowly said,"Where did you come by this information?"

Crane had to convince him that he found out that Torres had a supply of Ekril blood in a way that didn't threaten him "The witch doctor told me. He lives in the mountains searching for them to extract their blood and study it. He told me of its uses and I put it together after thinking about the only question Geoffry wouldn't tell me the answer to, how would he get the adult Queen Grass Beetle to listen to him."

Torres looked fairly pensive. Crane was pretty good at coming up with believable lies.

Ekril blood had two known uses, the Ekril blood shaman could use it to invoke magic without mana and apparently, the Ekril Beast Masters could use it to tame monsters. According to the ancient documents stored in the restricted section, the people who first encountered the Ekril 600 years prior captured some and extracted their blood. Although they could not use magic with it, they could gain the temporary loyalty of monsters by feeding them Ekril blood. After that discovery they started to capture Ekril for experiments and blood draining. The remaining Ekril would send their warriors to Yarsan to fight and bring back their stolen loved ones. A group of wicked politicians used this against the high magician family and ordered the capture of more and more Ekril over the years. Due to the Ekril's resistance against magic, the wicked group successfully used the Ekril to get the royal family to re-instate the army and after two hundred years, the head of that group at the time, Joul Rotan, used to army to take control of Yarsan. Even now Ekril are kidnapped from their homes to provoke them to attack Yarsan to keep the military in power. The captured Ekril are harvested for blood and the blood is used to tame monsters to fight each other or other people at the underground Colosseum in what is known as, the Nightmare Games.

However Ekril blood had not been experimented on by an alchemist before. The only alchemists were in the Craft Guild and if they hired an alchemist and he found a incredible use for Ekril blood, the Guild would begin collecting it as well, meaning that Torres would lose the monopoly over it. The possibility that Crane could discover a hidden use that Torres would have sole rights to was tempting.

Torres said, "If you want to experiment on Ekril blood I am going to need compensation. Here is my deal. You will fight in the tournaments for me and draw the crowds like the man you turned into a popsicle had. For as long as you do I will provide you wilt Ekril blood. You will perform your experiments here. A suitable lab will be provided. Any additional equipment, materials, or ingredients you need will be provided for. You will also be given room and board, and free meals for as long as you do well in the tournaments."

The deal was made to seem like it gave Crane everything but it was mainly in the interests of Torres. Should Crane's research never bare fruit, the commission he makes Torres for drawing crowds at the tournaments will more than make up for any costs. At the same time it prevented Crane from ever leaving, it would make Crane work till he died. However none of that mattered. Crane needed access to one area and this deal would give it to him. The details of what happened after that were irrelevant.

"Your offer is most generous. I will gladly accept under two conditions."

Torres raised his eyebrows a bit in interest and said, "Do tell."

"When not working or fighting I would like a free pass to the nightmare games, and I would like to see the blood harvesting for myself. Just like how one picks an herb from the ground determines the quality, how the blood is extracted may affect the blood itself. If the process is consistent then I will only need to see it once, but I will need to see it before I begin my research."

Torres seemed to think about it for a while and said, "And how does watching the games help your research?"

Crane smiled, "It probably won't, but I love a good show."

Torres barked out a good laugh and said, "I'll give you access to the VIP section, you can go there for free whenever you want, but if you want to watch the extraction, I'll need to add one more condition. Ordyn here," he motioned to one of the two level 200+ knights that took Crane there, "will be your escort for as long as your here. He has access to that area so he can take you there, but only once. Do we have a deal?"

Crane smiled like the way he thought a naive kid who didn't know he was getting the short end of the stick would smile and shook Torres's hand.

Torres said, "It will take some time before your lab is ready, Ordyn, please take Crane to the VIP section."

The armored knight nodded and motioned for Crane to come with him. Crane thanked Torres again before leaving and caught a glimpse of his devil's smile, though the man didn't catch the same smile on Crane.

Ordyn lead Crane through the casino, pass the tournament entrance, down another hall to a large pair of red doors. In the hallway beyond it were paintings of various monsters and gladiators fighting them. As well as many scenes of the gladiators after they fell.

-I'm right behind you man. Say the word and I'll take care of this guy.

Crane stopped to look at one of the more horrific paintings in the hall and moved his head just barely to the side to catch a glimpse of Tensford in the hall. Crane asked Ordyn, "For regular seats, how much is a ticket?"

The big knight looked down at Crane and said, "150 gold. Average bet on outcome is the same."

Crane raised his hand in a gesture that looked like he was admiring the grotesque painting and touched the Reply icon in front of him.

-Not yet, if you stole enough, then get in and wait for my signal. After that you can tail me.

-Ok, careful in there, gone too far to turn back now.

Crane turned and headed for the opening with a ticket counter in front. Ordyn said the the man, "VIP," and passed him with Crane in tow. Beyond the entrance was a large room with counter to place bets, a board with betting odds, and three stairways that lead left, right, and straight behind the betting booth. Ordyn walked up to the man at the booth and said again, "VIP." The man nodded and Ordyn went around the stall and motioned for Crane to follow him. Up the stairs the path split with one pair of stairs going down and the other up. They took the upper path that lead to a rectangular room with an opening at the side to look out and several comfortable chairs. Crane looked out the porthole to see the arena and the stadium chairs . The entire space was a large cavern with many lights hanging from the ceiling to make the arena beneath it as bright as possible. The arena was about three times larger than a basketball court and and was set at least thirty feet into the ground from the closest seating which looked over the pit and extended about twenty rows out, enough room to comfortably seat a couple thousand. The stands were about a quarter full and the ring had five people fighting three mountain trolls. Trolls fight best in a group so those people were just there to be slaughtered. Crane pretended to smile while looking at one troll tear the leg of a person it caught off and asked Ordyn, "Where do you get people to fight?"

Ordyn gave one of the most sinister smiles Crane had ever seen and said, "People who barrow from the casino and lose it gambling have a debt that cannot be paid back. They are offered a chance to wipe their debt clean if they can survive one round. Occasionally we get a volunteer and if he survives, he gets paid to return. Sometimes the monster's owners request a match between their beasts to see who's better. The tickets to such events are usually sold out." Crane had to fake interest in watching the trolls throw the people around like rag dolls before their head popped like red paint filled balloons. Had he not trained his emotions in the training hall he would've shuddered at the nightmarish sight, giving away his true disposition. After the last man stopped twitching, Crane asked, "When is the next blood collection?"

Ordyn said, "It collected when needed, there no scheduled time. You wanna look now?"

Craned feigned excitement and smiled, "Yes please." Ordyn lead Crane down the stairs but where the path split between going down to the entrance and going down another path, Ordyn lead Crane down the other. Crane walked behind Ordyn so he did see Crane move his hands to open the whisper menu to Tensford.

-It's time. Behind the betting booth is a flight of stairs that leads up then splits up and down. Take the down path and be quite about it. Ill tell you the securities I see here as I pass them. Can you get past the bet taker without killing him? Doing so would set off alarms too early

-Hehe, you know how you said you would owe me one for getting those books?

-Yea

-Let me have that berserker poison and we'll call it even

-That's fine but I can't get it to you

-No sweet, I stole of off you while escorting you back to the rotunda.

Crane checked his inventory, not just to see if Tensford was telling the truth, but to make sure he had all his other items like the +2 skill sword mastery ring. It was all there except for the potion.

-Tensford, never do that again.

-Haha, yea... Anyways I can coat a knife in it and prick someone while passing right?

-Hmm a prick wouldn't make them kill anyone, just get angry and violent

-Good to know, so if I pricked a dozen or so people it would make quite the scene don't you think? enough to draw someone away from there post?

-Good thinking, but go easy, I said we don't want to sound alarms

-Ok, see you soon

Ordyn lead Crane down stairs pass a room with two guards on either side of a door, and further down. After Crane judged they were beneath the floor of the arena, the path leveled out to a chamber filled with horrible sounds of monsters roaring and others screaming. Ordyn lead in to the left path to a long row of cages. Dozens of Ekril, maybe a hundred were bound tightly to racks and several of them had another person inside. Ordyn stopped at at man walking down the hall and said, "Helkin, this kid wants to see and extraction, got any that are ready?"

The extractor said, "Why sure, we always got a couple ready to donate. Hehehe."

Not even bothering to look around, the man took out his key and opened the closest door to an Ekril that began screaming in anger when he saw his door opened. The extractor applied an herb to the Ekril's bound arm and said, "This is for disinfectant. Before we started doing this, many of these guys died of infection." It was difficult to hear the man talk through the Ekril's yelling and screaming. The man put an empty glass jar, about the size of a jelly jar, beneath a metal rod that lead up to the Ekril's arm. The man the picked up a knife that was laying on the ground and a device that looked like two combs stuck together. He deeply cut the Ekril's arm, letting out another round of screaming, and put the comb like device inside the cut and spread it, letting out another round of screams. Blood from the open wound poured out and down the arm to the metal rod when it flowed into the glass jar. when it was almost full the man removed the device keeping to wound open and put some herbs on it which would stop the bleeding. After the last drop hit the jar it was capped and taken. Crane was sure if he did not hurl because he had trained himself or if you can't throw up in RR, but either way it was good that he didn't because it would give him away as a sympathizer. Crane put on a fake smile and avoided eye contract with screaming Ekril, Ordyn noticed his smile and said, "Maybe when you're older you can do the extraction yourself, haha ha."

Crane whispered to Tensford.

-Where are you know?

-Filling my pockets at the vault

-Vault?

-That room you told me you passed with the two guards. The only room that would have guards in a section that is already restricted is the vault

-You kill the guards?

-They never saw me coming

Crane had to remember that Tensford fought as much as he had in the dungeon and was a higher level than he was from the start.

-Ok, stay inside till we get there, when you see my escort, attack, and at that moment I'll strike from behind.

-Does he really need to be tag teamed?

-He's at least a level 200 Kallamore Knight

-Hmm, better safe than sorry I suppose

Ordyn lead Crane back up the stairs, but when they reached the door that previously had two guards, the guards were missing and the door was slightly ajar. Ordyn said, "Stand back," motioning for Crane to stay on the stairs while Ordyn investigated. Crane gave his best fake 'I'm worried, I don't know what is going on' face to convince Ordyn he had nothing to do with it. The knight bought it and turned to open the door. The moment he did, Tensford shot out at him from the darkness but Ordyn parried the attack. In the moment before Tensford attacked, Crane took his Majestic stance with a powerful intention to cut the knight in front of him into ten thousand pieces. 101! When Ordyn parried Tensford's surprise attack, Crane used flurry on a single point on Ordyn's back, the space between his upper armor and lower armor. Crane had practiced this with the bugs long before but only recently could he manage a single point flurry attack.

Critical Hit!  
Critical Hit!

Ordyn barely winced at receiving critical hits to the back, but that single moment was all Tensford needed to give a barrage of his own hits. Ordyn jumped forward at Tensford who smoothly dodged to the side but now the pair were both in front of him.

"You two will pay for this."

The stairway was long and from within the vault his cries for reinforcements would not be heard, so he had to kill them both on his own

Crane moved forward to take the front and Tensford moved to the side. The knight dashed at Crane and drew down his sword with an power break. Instead of taking the attack with his sword he only pretended to, at the moment of contact he let the weight of the sword fall through his own while controlling the movement of the weight with his shoulder, directing it down to his side. Fighting for hours and days against a hard light rapier that he had to break without breaking his own sword taught him many useful tricks for taking power attacks. The knight let out a small shocked expression, though Crane was not sure if it was from that miracle parry, or because Tensford closed the ten foot gap between them in an instant and struck Ordyn's back. Ordyn twisted to the side to try and strike behind him but Tensford was already gone by then. Crane taking the front while Tensford used hit and away tactics was something they had honed over the weeks they were in the dungeon. However their opponents were spirits that could only be defeated in a specific manner or not at all. The knight was powerful but the true strength of a knight was fighting one on one, fighting while riding a horse, or fighting in a large group. Alone against Tensford and Crane who fought like lightning and the wind, the knight could only delay the inevitable. Ordyn put his back against the wall to prevent them from surrounding him. Crane lifted the tip of his sword and wrote the rune Thurisaz. The knight had seen Crane's fight in the tournament so he jumped to the side right before lightning struck where he had just stood. Tensford predicted it and intercepted Ordyn mid jump and gave a slash beneath his arm.

Tensford yelled, "It's bleeding."

Tensford had gotten a message after the strike which informed him of his opponent's state. Bleeding implied that a major area had been struck and the Knight would now slowly lose health until he treated it or died.

The look in the knight's eyes told Crane what he was going to do so Crane took his majestic stance in preparation. As predicted the Knight came at Crane with a barrage of sword strikes which were countered with Crane's stance enhanced twelve forms skill. The knight had two options now that he was bleeding, kill one as fast as he could so he could more easily deal with the other, or run. As a knight his honor couldn't let him run, literally, his actually Stat honor could lower if he ran from a battle. Which left him with killing one of them quickly and among the two, Crane had showed a willingness to take attacks and fight with honor. Crane however had different ideas, Crane fought without forcefully attacking. This meant the knight could not attack openings made when Crane attacked. The knight tried to make openings in Crane's swordplay by varying the strength of his own attacks to cause Crane to misguess the amount of strength he needed to parry, but when the Knight used too little Crane would push the knight's sword back and give him a good slash before returning to the defensive position. Such tricks were common when he fought against the light spirit and Crane could now comprehend the proper choice to attack or parry the instant his sword made contact. As the pair's sword's danced together and the Knight bleed out, Tensford was attacking his back in unpredictable patterns. More than twice the Knight had tried to predict Tensford's attack and turned to cut him through, but each time Tensford gave up on the attack before he came within the knight's range, and each time he turned his back on Crane he received a single point parry attack to the back. The knight had a skill that allowed him to know Tensford's position without seeing him, but Tensford used it against him, making him turn his back on Crane who would then attack without mercy.

Tensford delivered a final strike and Ordyn fell and vanished, dropping a key ring and a pair of boots.

You have leveled Up!  
Infamy rises by 20 point. (+20 INFM)

Crane picked up the key but didn't bother collecting the loot, it was something that they agreed to without saying anything but after they split the dungeon's treasure, Crane agreed that Tensford could collect any and all treasure he saw fit to.

That being said, now that he was in the vault where the casino kept all of it's money, Crane walked over to a pile and started collecting. Tensford said nothing but the pair didn't leave that room till it was bone dry. Crane secretly believed there was still money piled up when he got there because Tensford had left it for him, the thief had been in the vault for a while before hand, and Crane could not even guess how much he accumulated.

The pair left the vault and Crane lead them down the stairs to where the Ekril were stored.

-Tensford, you see someone, you walked up to him like you belong here and kill him, no questions asked.

Although they were next to each other Crane did not want to be overheard. Tensford nodded. The first person they came across was the extractor Crane had met earlier. Crane put his arm out and said to him, "Excuse me, have you seen Ordyn?"

The man walked up to Crane and was about to answer when Crane said, "Thurisaz."

Lightning struck him just as Tensford ran up to the stunned man and stabbed him in the heart.

He vanished and dropped another ring of keys.

The Ekril who surrounded them became silent. It just so happened that the one Crane had seen earlier was next to him. Crane opened the door to the Ekril who looked both fearful and interested. Crane took one pair of keys and put it in the Ekril's hand and held it there. "My name is Crane. Today, you and all your kind will leave this place. You understand me?"

All races in Royal Road spoke the same language, but whether or not the one could still speak after what he had been through was a mystery.

The Ekril looked at Crane with a fire in his eyes and said, "Release my bonds."

Crane did so, the Ekril dropped to the ground. Crane took out a potion from his inventory and handed it to the Ekril. He waved it away and said, "I will recover, the restraints, covered in poison, weakens us."

Crane would not have much time once this started so he had to confirm some things. "There are powerful monsters kept not far from here, I intend to release them to cause enough chaos to get you all out of here. Can you tame them if I brought them to you?"

The Ekril looked up at Crane and said, "Why are you helping us?"

Crane looked him in the eyes and said, "This place you have been kept is filled with monsters, and I don't mean the ones you can tame, The people here are of the blackest hearts. But not all people are like that, I am one from the city above who learned of your pain, and did everything I could to come to this hell to bring you back to the light. After all your people are out of these cages, I will lead you to an exit outside the walls of the city."

The Ekril looked down and said, "Is there an exit that leads inside the walls?"

Crane understood his intentions, "Yes, there is."

"Leading my people outside will make them easy targets, a diversion must occur within to give them a chance. I will not allow them to be recaptured."

"I understand. My comrade will lead your people to the wall exit and wait for my signal. I will lead who wish to the center of the city."

The Ekril tightened his grip on the keys in his hand and said, "I will take you to Xix."

The Ekril got up and walked to the first door he could and released the Ekril there, he then left and started to unlock each cage he passed, Crane used his second pair of keys to do like wise. He stopped at a cage, unlocked it, put the keys on the ground, and lead Crane inside. The first Ekril that was released started to release others from the unlocked cages. The ekril inside this cage was larger than the others, older, the fur patterns on it were very detailed. the younger Ekril undid it bounds and kneeled before it. They said nothing but Crane had been under the impression that he just could not hear them, like a party chat Crane was not apart of. The old Ekril got up, seeming to have recovered quicker than the others and said, "I am Xix. Come here."

Crane came over to the Ekril who grabbed his wrist and squeezed it lightly.

After a moment he said, "It is true, you mean us no harm."

Crane said, "How can you tell, you read my mind?"

"No, your mana flow. If you were hostile to us then when grabbed your mana would reveal it. But you see us the same way you would anyone else, a simple yet remarkable thing for your kind."

Many Ekril were now free and freeing others, while some crowded around Xix's cell, watching the old Ekril analyze Crane.

He released Crane and said, "So what do you have in mind for my kind young one?"

"First I need an answer, if I bring your people to the monsters stored here, can you tame them?"

"A simple thing."

"Ok, the plan is to get you all out."

Xix seemed to chuckle a bit and said, "Sounds like a plan."

Crane smiled and lead all the Ekril that could walk to the the other side of the basement where the monsters were kept in unique cages. Crane gave the key ring to Xix who went to open a cage of mountain Trolls. The cage was around a spiked pit with the trolls in the center on a raised platform. This setup was likely to prevent the trolls from banging on the cage bars. The top of the cage had a thick rope and a closed porthole that likely lead up to the arena. The cage was not built to allow them to leave through the door. Xix scratched himself, drawing blood, and flicked it over the spike pit and mumbled something. Large rock pillars erupted from the spike pit, breaking through the spikes and giving the trolls something to stand on near the gate. The door was still too small for the trolls so they started smashing the gates with their fists. The noise they made echoed through the tunnels, alerting anyone who didn't already know that something was wrong. As each troll smashed against the gates, Xix expertly tossed a few drops of blood in each's mouth and muttered again. After that the monsters stopped yelling and started smashing efficiently, in unison. The gates eventually broke, releasing a dozen mountain trolls who then ran out and started breaking other cages. Crane walked back to the entrance to find Tensford and many Ekril fighting soldiers and Guards who had come down. Crane stepped to the side of the action and used rune sword, Isa, to send a wave of frost at the soldiers and guards. It slowed them noticeably, cutting their reaction speed enough to give Tensford's Ekril battalion the advantage to wipe out the guards. After a few more waves that were frosted and defeated, Xix arrived with many Ekril and every monster in the arena. Xix ordered the trolls to clear the way to the casino and walked up to Crane.

"First we take our revenge on the monsters up there. Then we release the beasts in the center of the city. Then you lead us to the outside of the walls."

It seemed that the Xix was told everything by the other Ekril and made up a plan with it.

"That sounds fine."

Crane had his regrets but it was not something that could be avoided. This plan allowed for the safe escape of every Ekril, without sacrificing any for the distraction plan.

Crane ran up the stairs to see monsters fighting knights, barbarians, and thieves. Crane and Tensford both ran up to the people fighting a group of Terror Birds pretending they were about to offer assistance, only to slash them in the back. One bird took the opportunity to bite of the head of the guard Crane had slashed, the same guard he had passed by on his way to the colesseum. After the guards were dead the birds moved onto the next groups. Crane and Tensford smiled at each other, the monsters considered the pair their allies.

Crane ran through the hall from the coleseum to the casino. When he passed the red doors he found that everyone was still gambling and having fun. None of the guards that had seen the Ekril or monsters had made it out to tell the tale and sound the alarms. Crane had not expected this, so he tried to think what was the best course of action.

Crane smiled, took in a deep breathe and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the casino. Special announcement! As a one time treat to the people here, The Colesseum is holding a Special Event, a show unlike anything you've ever seen. And as a one time treat, Tickets Are FREE! But Seats Available are First Come First Serve!"

Crane was still wearing the outfit made for him at the Dark Djinns, so he looked fancy enough to be believable. He didn't catch where the movement started, but slowly people started moving to the red door. Then faster, and faster, running through to the end. By the time those noblemen dressed in their finest looking clothes came through the other side of that hall, the people behind the would be pushing forward too much for them to run back. Crane dashed to the elevators at the far end on the casino. He calmly walked up to each one and cut the cables. When the men asked what he was doing, Crane pointed his sword at them and said, "Run."

Infamy rises by 5 point. (+5 INFM)

Since killing Ordyn, Crane's infamy was slowly rising. By the end of the day, it would be higher than his fame. Crane walked back to the casino to hear screams and shouts of the fearful. A pair of mountain trolls had broken through the crowd and now headed for Crane. When they got close to him they did nothing, but as Crane moved, they moved. It seemed that Xix had ordered them to protect Crane. However now his side was known. A group of guards saw Crane and the trolls blocking the path to the elevators and rushed for him. Crane motioned for the trolls to stand back for a while. Crane walked to the rushing group and the trolls stayed behind. About ten feet in front of the trolls Crane performed noble step and waited for the group. Five soldiers who seemed to run faster after they saw the trolls would not be fighting ran up to Crane as he used rune sword Isa to send a ice wave at the unsuspecting group who ran too fast to stop themselves from running right into it. Crane dashed to the frost covered soldiers and started twelve forms. With their frosted bodies slowing them down they could not attack properly as a team, Crane had not trouble fighting them. Crane fought while moving to the side of the group causing the others to have to go around the man at the end, but by that time Crane had already delivered the final blow to him and moved on. Crane destroyed the group in two minutes and called the trolls to move onto the next one. People were now running from the colesseum towards the elevators only to stop when they saw the trolls. Crane walked to the side and they ran around him, they were being chased by a dozen or so Grass beetle soldiers slowly moving towards them. Crane and the trolls walked by the group and by the beetles who did nothing. Crane watched the beetles go into the elevator rooms as he heard dozens of people screaming in terror. From a door in the casino emerged Torres and his brother. Crane pointed at the pair, signally the trolls to attack. They tried to re-enter the door, but it seemed that it was closed by people from the other side. The duelist took out both his swords and tried to defend himself, but his brother did not help, the duelist was grabbed from both directions by the pair of four armed trolls and slowly stretched. Meanwhile Torres was banging on the door, screaming to be let back in. The duelist let out a final scream before he and his limbs went in separate directions. The trolls the tried to grab Torres but he ducked and weaved away from their fists. They formed a wall that he could not pass and Crane was coming from the other side.

Torres turned to Crane and yelled, "Why have you done this!"

Crane smiled and said, "I came down here with the sole purpose of doing this."

Torres replied in a panicked voice, "I'll give you anything, anything, just let me go!"

Crane said, "I'm not sure you have enough, a thief I know came across a vault with a large amount of gold inside. The vault in question is now empty.

Torres's face seemed to burn red, both angry and disparate at the same time.

Crane motioned for the Trolls to kill him. Crane could take care of it himself, but he thought that having the man killed by the beasts he imprisoned who were controlled by the Ekril he took blood from had a great symmetry that appealed to him. With a few cries of, "WAIT, WAIT," the trolls surrounded him and proceeded to smash him to pieces. Before he was dead, one of the trolls picked him up and the other one bit his head off. Torres dissolved and the Trolls returned to Crane who ordered them to smash open the locked door. Crane did not enter it, but the screaming of the people inside got the attention of a tri of Terror birds who ran to the door. Crane and the trolls proceeded to smash every door inside the place. A group of Ekril and terror birds was now following him, entering each room and killing each and every person without mercy.

After about an hour and an half, the screams could no longer be heard. Just the sounds of monsters and Ekril looking for survivors. Crane found Xix and said, "So how was your day?"

Xix looked up to the roof of the casino and said, "Productive."

"I haven't heard a scream for a while, its time to get some sun."

"Hmm, these two exits you spoke of, why have they not been found? This place has been searched well."

Crane nodded, "The one that leads to the center of the city was sealed off. We can unseal it easy enough. The way to the side of the city is actually back beneath the colesseum. That route is used to bring the monsters inside."

Crane took out the old map of the tunnels beneath Yarsan and started drawing from his head the layout of the casino over it. The map revealed the tunnel's location to be on the other side of a wall inside a room. Xix brought the trolls to open up the doorway so that even the Queen Grass Beetle could enter. Xix put his hand on the wall for a while before saying, "Indeed, this passage will do nicely."

One of the other Ekril stepped forward and the others parted from the back as the giant lobster like Queen Grass Beetle came forward and started slowly digging through the wall. After it broke through it started to pick up the pace, the passage was already there but it widened the passage immensely to allow all the other beasts through.

Xix said, "It is time to go."

Crane lead Xix and the other Ekril from the casino back to the red door. The monsters however stayed and were gathered around the hole the Queen grass beetle was digging. Down the stairs back to the cages, Crane lead them to the back of the hallway to a cage that was empty since before they got there. Crane went to the side of the cage and pulled a lever, it opened the back of the cage that lead up a long, wide hallway.

Infamy rises by 400 point. (+400 INFM)

Crane guessed at that moment the beetle had broken through the ground and the army of monsters behind it started to kill people. The tunnel opened to the central ring close to the church of Agni. The thick walls between the central ring and the residential district would prevent the monsters from getting there and the military base was close enough to wipe out the monsters before the fortress faced massive causalities.

Crane opened the gates and lead the Ekril up the long ramp that extended past the city gates. There were some guards but the Ekril warriors killed them with weapons they took from the casino guards they killed. The tunnel lead to a giant door where Crane motioned to Xix to have everyone stay a few hundred feet behind. Crane walked up to and opened the door. The Ekril were blinded, and would have been worse had Crane not stopped them a fair distance from the door. After about ten minutes the Ekril could see again and they ran out of the tunnel into the light.

Quest Complete: Free the Ekril  
You have leveled Up!  
You have leveled Up!  
You have leveled Up!  
You have leveled Up!  
You have leveled Up!

Crane had received a unknown rank Quest when he first read about the plight of the Ekril from a book in the restricted section. Before leaving, Xix walked up to Crane and said, "You have done more than we could ever repay and have asked nothing in return. Please, let me give you something. It is all that I can give, but I want to give it to you."

The quest spoke of an unknown reward but Crane was not sure what it would be. "If you wish to give me something, I will not reject it."

Xix took out a bottle he had picked up earlier and a knife. He sat down and began to chant. As soon as he started the Ekril around him froze in place in shock when they saw what he was doing, but they did not say a word. He held out his left hand over the open bottle and hand the knife in his right. Slowly the light brown fur on his body turned lighter and lighter, turning grey. The hair furthest from his left hand turned grey the fastest and his chest shoulder and forearm turned much slower, his hand remained brown. It was like the color was draining away from his body into his hand, and when his hand had the only brown fur left, the color slowly drained away, until only his index finger remained brown. Xix then slowly moved the knife to his finger and cut it deeply. Blood dripped out into the bottle, as with each drop, the finger became lighter and lighter, as did the rest of his body, turning from grey to white. When his finger turned completely white as well, he removed it and collapsed in exhaustion. The Ekril around Crane didn't say a word. Xix got up again and gave the bottle to Crane. "Please drink this." A round of gasps resounded from the Ekril. Crane didn't think there was anything to lose so he drank the blood. It tasted the the most bitter of medicines but Crane was able to finish the whole bottle.

You drank Ekril Elder's life Blood  
Increase mana 1000  
+10 all stats  
Resistance to all magic increased by 20%  
Tamed beasts become more loyal to you

Crane was speechless. There was no way a potion like this could exist. Xix very slowly got to his feet and said, "Goodbye Crane, may good fortune follow you where ever you go."  
As he walked away, another Ekril walked up to Crane, it was the one he had first released. "Crane. There is something you should know. Xix was an Elder Chieftain. His blood was from the highest linage, it could both tame the beasts and be used for the blood magics. What Xix has done is separated the power within his blood from his body and concentrate it to pass it on. This was done to him by the chieftain who came before him and now he has it done to you. Now that Xix has passed on to you he will never perform blood magic or tame beasts again." The Ekril made sure he saw the comprehension in Crane's eyes before leaving with the rest of his people. Crane opened his stats and skills window to see how it looked after the battles and the blood. "Show Stats and skills."

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 146

Class- Rune Master

Title- None

Fame- 260 Infamy 560

Health- 5921

Mana- 8320

Strength- 343+20

Agility- 355+20

Wisdom- 143+20

Intellect- 178+20

Vitality- 105+20

Luck- 45+20

Leadership 28+20

Finesse- XX+20

Fighting Spirit- 180+20

Perseverance 231+20

Endurance- 227+20

Attack- 270

Defense- 109

Magic Resistances

Fire-43%

Water-37%

Earth-35%

Black Magic-41%

Ice-39%

Wind-35%

Lightning-30%

Light-55%

+ All stats are added 20  
+ While using a sword you receive +25% bonus to Attack  
+ 25% Maximum Mana  
+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.  
+ Can learn skills that use the stat finesse  
+ Can learn and use rune magic.  
+ Can harness true power of runes to increase variety of effects when used.  
+ As a Rune Master, you understand that all magic originates from runes, Enables you to learn modern magic spells based on your level in Rune Mastery.

Skills Window

Identification [8] 30%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.  
Mana Cost: 30

Sword Mastery Intermediate [4] 38%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords.  
+210% ATK +50% ATK SPD while using a sword.

Twelve Forms Intermediate [3] 43%: Increases attack power and speed of attack while fighting using the twelve forms.  
+160% STR +160% AGI  
Mana Cost: 20 per second

Flurry [5] 78%: Rapid series of thrusts  
7 thrusts per second  
Mana Cost: 60 per second

Dash [8] 32%: Move a great distance in a single step  
Mana Cost: 20

Power Lunge [6] 34%: A strengthen piercing attack that covers some distance  
Mana Cost: 90

Soa's Routine [9] 68%

Majestic Stance- Increases attack strength and speed of techniques performed after stance used  
-Attack Str and Spd +90% for 7 techniques after use  
Mana Cost: 40

Regal Guard- Increase defense and chance of successful parry after use  
-Defense +45 Luck +90  
Mana Cost: 60

Noble Step- Increase movement speed to dodge oncoming attack after use  
-Movement speed +180% for 6 steps after use  
Mana Cost: 30

All effects are multiplied by Finesse stat/92

Alchemy [5] 25% Enables you to create quality potions from ingredients

Repair [9] 44% Enables you to repair weapons and armors. Beyond Lv. 10, you can forge new weapons and gears.

Throw Intermediate [4] 45% You can throw objects and weapons further and more accurately

Shout Intermediate [2] 55% Increases strength for an instant while shouting.  
STR +25% for an instant  
Mana Cost: 5

Battle Aura [6] 59%  
Converts fighting spirit into directed aura based off the user's thought. Power determined by strength of thought, area value determined by Fighting spirit, area position determined by thought itself  
Mana Cost: 1 every 5 seconds

Medical Botany [1] 0%

Rune Sword [3] 41%  
Can write Runes with the tip of sword.  
Strength of Rune effect multiplied by 98/Finesse stat  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
Mana Costs: 5 per second

Rune Call [2] 21%  
Can use Rune magic by calling out Rune names or sounds  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
290% Mana Cost to use Rune Effect

Rune Smith [3] 11%  
Can carve Runes into weapons and armor that grant additional options without decreasing max durability  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
For every rune carved, Maximum mana decreases by 50  
Mana returns upon item's destruction  
Effect Strength determined by Sculpture mastery

Rune Write [1] 0%  
Can write Runes on talismans  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
For every Rune written, Maximum mana decrease by 20  
Mana returns upon talisman's use  
Effect strength determined by Handicraft skill

Sculpture Mastery [4] 4%  
Enables you to produce complicated works.

Handicraft skill [6] 22%  
Dexterity Rating. Enhances your craft skills in every field  
Increases attack power with melee and long range weapons. (+6% ATK)  
Increases attack rower with fists. (+10% ATK)

Rune Mastery [2] 77%  
Enhances effects of Rune magic and determines spells that can be learned  
+4% increase in Rune effect. Can Learn 1-Circle magic

Rune Magic [2] 43%  
Can use learned runes to perform rune based spells and skills  
Original Power Determined by wisdom

Thurisaz, th, 3  
Mana cost 98

Isa, i, 11  
Mana cost 146

Forgery [1] 0%  
Enables you to make fake items that can pass inspection through Identification

Crane had learned to fight in a way that increased most of his stats. Although it was basic knowledge that casting a spell over and over again would eventually raise your INT stats, now many people put such information into practice as rigorously as Crane had. The biggest increase was his swordmastery, fighting against the hard light weapons without breaking them was pure weapon mastery training and Crane had done it as long as he could have.  
Tensford found Crane and said, "Well let's see, trained for a month, broke into palace, stole ancient secrets, killed a nobleman, framed another for the murder, found way to underground city. Killed everything there, looted vault, set Ekril free. Hmm, Is there anything else you wanted to do?"

Crane smiled and said, "Nope, that's it, I'm leaving Yarsan for good now."

"That so, well, I'll see you around."

Tensford motioned with his hands a bit before Crane got the message.

Tensford has left your Party

It was now the promised time and Crane meet the FireCat Kegan at the designated location. Before getting on, Crane imagined himself as death itself, there to kill every living thing in existence. Kegan shuddered in fear for a moment before regaining composure. He could not believe how strong Crane had become. Killing the leader of the Fire cat, Saber was no more than a formality at this point. Kegan knew that he would be loyal to Crane for the rest of his days.

-

Do Hyup got out of bed and faced the morning. His extended summer vacation was over, and it was his first day of school. Hyup's school had accelerated classes of which Hyup was apart, instead of being taught the students taught themselves and the more needy were guided by instructors. It was due to this that Hyup was able to have a three month long vacation. Though in royal road, it had been a little over a year. The prior night, Hyup, as his character Crane, had turned Saber into a Popsi-cat and let Kegan have the honor of smashing it. School wouldn't be so bad,After explaining Royal Road to his best friend Yoochun, Hyup knew he would get the game soon, and plenty of guys he knew already had one. Besides, Hyup's school only had a four day school week. His summer vacation had ended but his adventures had only just begun.


	11. Vol2 Chapter1 The Goblin City

Volume 2 Chapter 1  
The Goblin city

In a high school classroom that held thirty students, there was only one who really stood out among them. His name is Do Hyup and he sat in silent study at his desk like the others, but he sat not on a regular seat, but on a wheelchair, small and compact enough to fit under the desks just like any other chair.

Do Hyup was a freshman at a high school with an elevator system. Upon graduation from the middle school with passing marks, one was automatically enrolled into the high school for the following semester. Do Hyup was in the self paced classes for students who learned at a different rate than others. Although there were fellows there who could not keep up with the school's learning pace, Hyup was not one of them. Do Hyup could comprehend a book completely after reading it over once, and he read very fast. Whereas other students in normal classes were taking six courses simultaneously and expected to learn them all by the end of the semester, Do Hyup took one course at a time, learned it within two weeks, took the exam for the course which required above 70% to pass, and moved on to the next course. At this pace he would graduate early at any other school, but he and his parents choose this school because it had an extremely wide variety of subjects, and qualified teachers to teach them. Hyup had many interests, and had intended to learn everything the school had to offer before he turned eighteen and went to college.

The speaker system on the wall make two dings, an indication that it was the scheduled time for lunch. Hyup waited for the people who intended to leave disperse before rolling the wheels of his chair back out of his desk and to the wall leading to the door. Just as he passed the doorway he said, "Wait long?"

Yoochun, Hyup's best friend had been at the doorway waiting for him. "You really love to make me wait don't you?"

Hyup rolled passed him to the cafeteria and said, "Now what kind of person would that make me?"

Yoochun rolled his eyes and started talking about his new classes and the people in them. About how some have jerks and some have gems. Hyup mentions the names of some of the people in his class, most notably some of the better looking female students and many of the well known nerds, of which Do Hyup was a member. After buying food at the student store, they searched for a table. Most of them were crowded but they only need to find one with a single empty seat at the end.

They found a mostly full table that met the requirement, Hyup rolled over to the end of the table and Yoochun sat at the end seat.

Hyup asked, "Why haven't you told me about your summer yet?"

Yoochun gave him a puzzled look, as if to say, 'you know why.'  
"I figured you wouldn't want to know the kinds of fun I had without you."

Hyup smiled and said, "Ok, how about this, you tell me everything you did without me, then I tell you everything I did without you, and whoever had the most fun wins."

Yoochun gave a fiendish grin and said, "You're on. I spent the first month fishing, kayaking, swimming and surfing. After that we spent a month on a island learning how build stuff from what grew there and forage food. And the last month we spent camping on another island. A whole month camping, without any resources from the outside, building our own shelter, fishing for food and collecting fruits from trees, and looking up at the starry night sky you can't appreciate from inside the city."

There are plenty of people who wouldn't consider being without cellphones, computer and electricity for a month fun, but Yoochun and himself were not among them. A summer out on an island fending for themselves, seeing what they were capable of without the help of others seemed like one of the coolest summers one could have.

Hyup said, "Sounds awesome. During my summer, I read about ten thousand books, got drafted into the army, learned to use a sword, fought in hundred of battle against men and monsters, learned all kinds of new skills, and killed hundreds of politicians."

Yoochun stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing. He collapsed off the table and complained he couldn't breathe, causing quite a scene. After getting up and assuring everyone who looked at him he was fine, he stared at Hyup with a skeptical gaze. A girl next to him said, "Are you talking about Royal Road?"

Yoochun looked at her quizzically and Hyup nodded. Yoochun said, "What is Royal Road?"

The girl answered enthusiastically, "It's this awesome new virtual reality game where you live inside the virtual world and do whatever you want?"

Yoochun asked, "Like Sims?"

The girl changed to an expression like she was looking at someone who who had just received a gaping head wound. She looked at Hyup and said, "Is he ok?"

Hyup said, "He's been on an deserted island for the past two months."

She nodded in understanding and continued. "It is fantasy based role playing game. You live and play in a world that is filled with monsters and magic. You can be anything you want. A warrior, a wizard, or even a blacksmith, whatever you want!"

Yoochun seemed interested, "Can you become a king?"

At this question the girl hesitated, "Well, not instantly, you have to work your way up, gain fame, gain reputation, become a lord, gain more reputation, conquer everyone around, and build up your land into a kingdom. Then you'll be considered a king. The kings on the continent right now are all non player characters, so you if you want to be one you need to build up your kingdom from scratch."

Yoochun asked, "That's cool, if it is the highest position then it would need a lot of work to get to."

She shook her head, "No, there is a position higher than that. If someone united the entire continent and ruled over every king and kingdom, that person would be the emperor, currently there isn't one, but there is a big prize to whoever becomes the emperor."

"Oh, what kind of prize?"

"Whoever becomes emperor get 10% on the income the game makes that month."

"Is that a lot?"

"Yeah! I heard the game will soon be released internationally! Soon people from all over the world will have it and will be paying Unicorn Inc. monthly to play."

Yoochun looked at Hyup with a mischievous smile and said, "So the world's biggest game hater finally found a game he likes?"

Hyup sipped some soda and turned to the girl and said, "What do you think about comparing Royal Road with every other game in the world?"

She raised her shoulders and said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "There is no comparison. There is a difference between looking a monster on a screen and looking at its face in virtual reality. The details in Royal Road is barely distinguishable from reality. When fighting you feel the damage taken as pain, when you fight for a long time you feel exhausted. It isn't like a game where you control an avatar through a remote or controls. You become the avatar."

By this time an audience had actually gathered around her. With a few exceptions most people had heard about Royal Road but most had not played it. The capsules had sold out month after month. There were probably a lot of people who had ordered it amongst the student body but they would not receive their capsule till at least the end of the month.

A guy who had been listening moved up to conversation and said, "You guys play Royal Road? Where did you start?"

The girl said, "The Ancient city of Tentoro, Aidel Kingdom."

The pair looked at Hyup who relented, "Fortress of Yarsan, Kallamore Kingdom."

They both winced a bit. The guy started, "That sucks. I've heard bad things about Kallamore. The monster attacks are endless and any User who participate in the battle receives no help from the army and die too often. It is a horrible place for a user to start, You should come to the Kingdom of Haven! Both of you! It's really great, it is a great place for users, it filled with quests and opportunity."

Hyup made a note to completely avoid the Kingdom of Haven, he didn't want cookie cutter quests. He said, "No thanks, I'm heading east at the moment."

The girl said, "I'm happy with Aidel Kingdom at the moment."

The guy frowned and asked, "Well, what classes did you guys choose?"

Hyup said, "I'd rather not say." He didn't want to announce that he was a jack of all trades with a secret class.

The girl said, "I think I'll pass as well, I have no need to share my class with a stranger."

The guy frowned a bit and left the table. Yoochun had watched the whole scene while eating from a steaming cup of instant ramen. The crowd around them started to disperse into groups to discuss among themselves, Hyup could guess what they were discussing.

Yoochun said, "The game sounds fun, but it sounds like it would take up a lot of time, would you be able to do a lot without living in it?"

The girl said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it, time in Royal Road moves four times faster than it does out here. Spending six hours inside a capsule is spending twenty four hours inside Royal Road."

This last point seemed to grab his attention more than any other point, "Ok, I'm sold, I'll put an order in for one when I get home."

Hyup looked around to make sure no one was listening and asked, "So, what class did you get?"

She frowned a bit and said, "I'll tell if you tell."

"Ok, I got a secret class that is somewhere between a craft class and a spellsword. A jack of all trades that uses ancient magic I have to discover myself."

"Ohhh, that sounds interesting. I'm a gladiator. There is a massive colosseum in Tentoro. I fought there till I got the class."

Do Hyup was impressed, gladiator was a class that could only be acquired when the champion of a colosseum gained the crowd's approval for their matches. This was in no way an easy feat. A gladiator was able to use a large variety of weapons from swords to hammers to tridents and even unique one of a kind weapons only they could use like iron fists with a crescent blade extended out. The skills they could learn were dependent on weapon mastery and fame. Fame was the lifeblood of any gladiator, they were one of the few classes where fame affected how strong their skills were and when they lost a fight and died, their fame greatly decreased.

Hyup asked, "What's your weapon specialty?"

Impressed at the understanding the question revealed, she said, "Sword and shield."

"Shield type?"

She smiled, "Bladed, attached."

"Impressive, I'd love to see you fight."  
A bladed shield was a small round shield that was thinner than average and had a its outer edge sharpened like that of a blade. Attached meant it had a cord that attaches the shield to the hilt of the sword. The sword, the shield and the cord could each be used as a weapon to kill someone. When used together it was like three people fighting at once. However the use of such a complex weapon would require the utter most focus and concentration.

"Maybe that can be arranged."

The speakers rang again, signaling the time to return to class.

Hyup frowned a bit and said, "You can call me Hyup, lets talk again later."

"Hm, then you can Miyeok."

Miyeok took her finished lunch and left.

After school was out and Hyup went home, he started on his homework. When he started a new course he received a large packet of problems that could only be answered when one understood the materials. He divided it out into manageable sections and started where he left off the prior night. The subject this time was Early Tech History, the progress of computers and technologies through the twentieth and and early twenty first centuries. It was a pre-requisite course to Modern Tech History, and was necessary to gain access to the high school's technologies lab. He had read through all the material that this day's portion required and filled in answer after answer until he was at the point he stopped reading. He was actually a few days ahead of schedule which is where he needed to be. By the end of his homework it was dinner time. He ate at the dining room with his mother and watched the television. It was a nightly ritual to watch the news around that time to keep themselves updated on the current events of the world and use it to start up a conversation. However the news this time was on Royal Road. The station brought in an expert who stated that using a capsule for a long period of time may lead to negative health effects, and that Royal Road was a fad that would soon decline in popularity making way for the next fad.

Hyup's mother asked, "Do you think Royal Road is a fad that will pass in time?"

Hyup smiled and said, "When the first moving pictures came out, many investors thought that it was just a fad whose popularity would pass with time. What other stations are there?"

Hyup's mother changed the channel till she found another news station. This one had a special on Royal Road, and said that soon they would premire a show dedicated to news from the Royal Road itself. They silently agreed that this would be their default station from now on.

After dinner, Hyup did his business in the bathroom and went to his room. He removed the muscle stimulator's battery pack from his pocket, took out the battery, replaced it with the one on the its charger and put it back into the pack.

The accident that took away his ability to walk destroyed muscle tissue and severed the nerves of his legs. Before the advent of modern technology, severed nerves could not be reattached, but with the help of the best doctors money could buy, his were. However the muscle could not be repaired so easily. The damaged and dead muscle had to be removed, but with years of therapy, they could be regrown. The muscle stimulator had several nodes attached to parts of his damaged legs that caused to muscles to flex and relax one hundred times throughout four minutes once an hour whenever he wasn't sleeping. Each section did so at a different time, meaning that most of the day while sitting in his chair or using the capsule he was technically exercising.

He got settled inside his capsule and closed the lid. One of the best parts about his self paced classes was that he only had a school monday through thursday, and today was thursday.

Connect to Royal Road?

Yes|No

He answered, "Yes."

Hammond and girlfriend, Crystal, were walking down a forest path no one had ever traveled. Leading the way was the third member of their expedition, Desik. Hammond and his girlfriend were missionaries of the Church of Magni, he was a paladin, and she was a priestess. Densik was another user who wanted a quest that rewarded contribution points to the church of Magni. He was a ranger who made use of his tracking skills to safely lead them to the undiscovered town. They were on a quest to spread the influence of the church of Magni to remote areas.

Crystal asked, "Desik, any signs we're getting closer?"

"Not yet miss. Though there are some fresh tracks, we're following them now."

Hammond grumbled a bit. It wasn't that he didn't mind going off on and exploring uncharted wilderness, but the problem with exploring was that unmapped areas were 65% nothing, 20% life threatening, 10% instant death, 4% dead ends, and 1% adventure. The ranger was keeping the pair away from the dangers by slowly going around what he deemed were the territories of dangerous monsters, but that left them with 99% nothing, searching for the town.

He was not unaccustomed to hardships though. As a paladin he had discovered several disappointing truths. He wanted a class that could strike down enemies with a sword and be able to buff and heal allies. However he soon discovered this could not be done practically. In order for a paladin to have access to skills, he need to put points into the stat Faith, to give his strikes damage he needed Strength, to give his strikes speed he needed Agility, to give his buffs and healing spells power he needed Wisdom, and to give him enough mana to use those buffs and heals when he needed them he needed Intelligence. He knew of no practical way to have them all so he had to choose between one of two paladin builds, a tank build or damage per second build. A tank gave 1/5 stats to Faith, 2/5 to wisdom, 1/5 to strength, and 1/5 to Intelligence. A tank needed great armor to take blows, he could both heal and buff himself and party members.  
However Hammond decided on a build that maximized the damage per second he could do. While leveling he gave 2/5 stats to Strength, 1/5 to Faith, 1/5 to Wisdom, and 1/5 to Agility. He had a good two handed great sword and could use it to sweep away anything that stood before him.

While working for the church, he met Crystal, it was love at first sight. He walked up to her and asked her to be his girlfriend on the spot. She smiled and accepted his friend request. (He said friend when he asked her so a friend request was sent to her.)

They spent most of their time together and even went on quests together. Because priests specialized in buffs and healing, she could do everything he could not and they made a good team. Hammond had discovered that certain quests from the church increased the Faith stat, and the more he had in there, the more he could put into other stats when he leveled up. What he was doing now was not so much a quest as fulfilling a standing order. He wouldn't get any experience for it but it was grant he and Crystal a large amount of faith and some contribution points to the church of Magni.

Desik follows the fresh tracks till that come across a hidden grove within the trees, with a five foot tall chunk of ice in the center.

Hammond motioned for the two to stay back, as he went to investigate it. The block shimmered in the scattered light that made it through the treetops but it it did not seem to be melting. The block could be mistaken for a giant crystal if it weren't for the cold feeling around the area. Upon closer inspection, Hammond saw a kid standing inside the ice, eyes closed, unmoving.

"Honey! There's a kid in here!"

Crystal ran over to the ice block and said, "Purify!"

A light ring passed over the ice block but nothing happened. "I'm sorry, it didn't work."

Hammond turned back to the ice block and started to beat it with the hilt of his great sword. Large ice chips broke off with each hit.

Hammond looked back at the face in the ice. His eyes were open now, and he was staring at Hammond. At the realization he was being watched, he jumped back, startled.

Crystal asked, "What's wrong dear?"

"He's awake. Don't worry, I'll get you out of there!"

Hammond yelled that last past to make sure he was heard, but he saw the kid smile.

The ice started to vibrate a bit, the kid seemed to be moving. Cracks appeared all along the ice until it was white with them. Then it shattered, the kid was released and fell to one knee taking deep breathes.  
Hammond wasn't sure what to make of it. At first he assumed he found a random encounter, something that would lead to a uncommon or rare quest, he thought that freeing the kid would start it. But the kid could've left the block at any time. And now that he thought about it the tracks they followed must've belonged to the kid, but there was still one question he couldn't answer.

"Umm, how did you get into that block of ice?"

The kid looked up at Hammond, compared to the kid, Hammond and his girlfriend were both college students already, and Desik was a bit older. He said to the group, "I put myself in there."

Crystal let out an , "Ah, that's why."  
Her purification spell didn't work because it wasn't the status affliction, Frozen. It seemed you could be frozen in a block of ice without being Frozen, that is the reason he could break himself out, and if he did it himself, he probably had a way to prevent himself from catching a cold while inside.

Crystal asked, "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Training. That ice spell has some interesting properties. It can be used as a training tool to increase concentration and willpower. When inside that block of ice, I need to concentrate to keep from falling asleep, if I fall asleep inside it, I die. By staying awake within it while it tries to kill me, my Wisdom stat and Intelligence stat slowly increase."

Hammond said, "Wow, how fast do they increase?"

The kid said, "I get about one point on either Wisdom or Intelligence every twelve hours."

Desik, who had been listening on the conversation the whole time said, "That's Crazy! You endure freezing pain while standing motionless for endless hours risking death just for a few stat points?!"

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the kid had to remain frozen in a block of ice for sixty hours to do the same work a single level up could do. At a decent hunting ground you could level up three times as much within the same amount of time, and at a good one you could level up five times during a period of sixty hours.

The kid answered Desik's complaint, "I'm a spellsword, guys with split classes need to do this kind of work to keep up with normal classes."

Hammond could see where he was coming from and said, "I see, well then, I'm Hammond, nice to meet you."

The priestess walked up to him and said, "I'm Crystal."

And lastly the Ranger just said, "Desik."

"I see, well then, my name is Crane. So what brings you guys out to the middle of nowhere?"

No one spoke up. The first group to walk into a undiscovered town gets a fair amount of fame. Should Hammond or the others tell Crane, he could go off and find it himself.

Crane looked at the group closely, and said, "Ah, off to the spread the influence of the Church to an undiscovered town or village?"

Hammond sighed. It wouldn't be hard for someone with insight to figure out why a Paladin, Priestess, and Ranger would be out there.

Crane said, "I'm done with today's training anyways, can I join your party?"

It wasn't a bad idea, Crane had already declared he knew of their mission so it was a bit risky to let him loose, but if he was a member of their party then there was far less risk. The fame given to the group that discovers a town is not diminished by the number of people in the party.

Hammond was the party leader so it was his call, "Alright, would you like to join our party?"

"Sure"

It wasn't that bad a deal, if he was a capable spellsword he would be useful in a the party as either a spellcaster or an additional front line fighter. It would also let Hammond keep an eye on him till they reached the town.

Desik lead the party through the trees. Since the trail he had been following lead to a dead end, Crane, he had to wander around till he picked up another trail. He found one. It appeared to be the tracks of a large beast, it had been through here not too long ago. He had a skill that prevented animals from being able to smell the party he was in, so he could safely follow it without the risk of it finding out. He didn't know what it was, but the edges of the footprints appeared to have been scorched by fire. He lead the party down the path until they made it to the edge of the forest. Before them was a long valley that extended left and right between two forests. But that was not the most distinguishing feature, from the left marched what appeared to be an company of over a hundred goblins wearing armor.

The rest of the party inched closer to the tree line to see without being seen. Crane spoke up silently, "Armored goblins are between level 60 for the weakest and 100 at the strongest."

They waited unmoving for the troops to pass them by. Hammond didn't know how strong Crane was, but he didn't want to risk Crystal fighting against what seemed to be around two hundred armor wearing goblins.

After the group passed, Crane smiled and said, "Let's follow them!"

The kid ran after the tail end of the goblins. Hammond shook his head and asked Desik, "What do you think?"

The ranger said, "Well, we don't know where we're going, and those goblins probably do. No harm in tailing them from a distance.

Desik looked at the ground, the trampling company completely destroyed the burnt tracks of what he was following. That or the tracks just disappeared.

Goblins were lanky green monsters with a long pointed nose, long pointy ears, a pointed chin, skinny limbs and a slightly bulging belly. They averaged five feet in height and were not very muscular, but they had generally good weapon skills and knew how to fight in a group. Find one or two and they can be taken care of easily, five or six needed some tactics to deal with, but two hundred goblins wearing armor was not something four people could take on.

The group silently followed them company for three hours. Desik spotted small moving dots in the sky above the horizon. After getting closer they saw what the flying creatures were. Dozens of griffins with bronze fur and orange feathers were circling in the air, hundreds of feet high. Upon getting closer, the griffins started to dive down to the goblins. On of the goblins blew a horn and at least fifty of them threw spears into the sky. Several griffins dropped to the ground and others started attacking the goblins. More griffins rose from the tree line at the sound of the goblin's horn. The griffins used their mighty beaks and sharp claws to tear at the goblins, some were lifted into the air and accurately dropped into a group of other goblins.

Crystal said, "Let's help."

Desik asked, "Help who?"

"The griffins obviously, they're so beautiful. We have to protect them from those ugly goblins!"

Hammond smiled and said, "As you wish. Crane, you in?"

"Crane smiled and said, "Of course!"

Crane was the one who told Hammond how strong armored goblins were so Hammond knew if he was ok with fighting it was not due to ignorance. Hammond turned to Crystal and said, "Buff us honey, and stay near Desik."

"Ok dear. Oh Magni, give us the mightiest of strengths to conquer our foes. Protection of the Holy Spirit. Strengthen us against evil powers. Blessing!"

Blessing was a higher level buff that cast Bless on the whole party. Hammond's and everyone's strength and defense received a thirty percent bonus for the next ten minutes.

Hammond and Crane rushed over to the tail end of the the goblins and started to hack at their backs. Hammond used Bash, taking the full power of his great sword and swinging it into the goblin with all his weight, sending it forward like a home run baseball. Although the armor heightened their defenses, a strengthened swing from his great sword took out two of three of the tightly pack goblins at a time. Crane stayed at his back killing golbin after goblin using some successive attack swordplay skill. Hammond saw a goblin throw his spear into the air, piercing the wing of a griffin. As it fell Crane raised his hand to it and yelled, "ISA!" A black wave shot out of his hand and hit the griffin. At first Hammond thought he finished it off to get the experience, but then he saw that the griffin was falling much slower now. Hammond took out the goblins near where it would fall. It softly hit the ground where Hammond had cleared the area where Hammond cleanly cut the spear off his wing. "Honey, heal this one."

"Holy Hand." A hand of light grasped the griffin who met Hammond's eyes before turning to attack a group of goblins with its talons. It was too exposed to launch into the air but it seemed it was just fine with ground combat.

A group of thirty armored goblins ran at Crystal while Desik tried to fill them with arrows only to be foiled by the goblin's shields. Hammond noticed the situation and started to run to Crystal, but there were more than fifty goblins in the way. "Crane! Help Crystal!" Crane said he was a spellsword so that meant he had more than just swordskills, but it wasn't likely that Crane could fare any better than Hammond.

Crane yelled, "Leave it to my partner. Keagan! Protect the Priestess!"

From the tree line jumped a huge tiger with large fangs who seemed to be covered in bright blue flames. It rushed headfirst into the goblin group, successfully getting their attention and setting every goblin it passed on fire. It set itself to attack whatever goblins were closest to Crystal until the group that targeted her was burnt to a crisp and slashed to ribbons.

Desik saw the beast's flaming paws and realized what had happened. The beast stayed close to the guy they found in the ice and lead them to a trail when they were lost. Although subtle, he realized that Crane had been leading them, not him.

Hammond could not believe what had just happened, a giant sabertooth tiger covered in blue flames had just come at the kid's call and saved his girlfriend. As he slashed more goblins with Crane at his back and a griffin at his side he asked, "What was that?!"

Seeming to have no trouble fighting four goblins at a time while talking he said, "That's my partner." Crane yelled, "Hey Crystal, get on Keagan's back. He'll take you where you need to go."

Crystal wasn't sure what was going on. The kid they picked up called a what seemed to be a tiger that was at least three times bigger than the ones she'd seen in pictures that was setting fire to the goblins while swatting them like toys and biting through their armor like it was aluminum foil. After Crane called to her, the tiger ran to her side and laid down. She looked at Desik who didn't seem worried about it getting closer to them. The flames on its back abruptly stopped. She said, "Can you take me to where Hammond is?" The tiger nodded, and motioned with its head for he to get onto its back. She did so and it got up and ran over to where Hammond and Crane were. "Blessing, Holy Hand, Holy Hand, Holy hand." She buffed the party and brought them back to health from the damage they had taken. She saw another griffin get hit by a spear and said, "Take me over there." Like this she was carried across the battlefield to any group of injured griffins who were on the ground. "Holy Hand, Holy Hand, Holy Hand.." She healed each griffon while the fire cat ran by the goblins, setting them on fire with the brighter flames coming from its legs and paws. In this way the priestess and Keagan burned the goblins while healing the griffin until Crystal ran out of mana and asked Keagan to take her to the outskirts of the battlefield. She got off and sat down. "Please keep them away from me." She then closed her eyes and began meditating.

Meditation was a skill many mage classes had that allowed for a quicker regeneration of mana, and hers was at a very high level. Although she was defenseless with her eyes closed as she did it, she could replenish her entire mana supply in four minutes. When she opened her eyes again, she noticed the crowd of goblins had vastly diminished. She called Keagan and got back on top, before she even asked he ran over to the nearest group on griffins so she could start healing them. She noticed that they had grouped themselves to protect their wounded, and once healed, they began an all out attack against the goblins. After the griffins were taken care of she healed Hammond and Crane. "Are you okay Hammond?"

Hammond swept away the pair of goblins in front of hims and looked at her, "I'm the one who should be asking that, is that thing safe?" At this Crane interjected, "There is no safer place on the battlefield than on Keagan's back," before he cut the head off two goblins and severed the arm of another. Crystal noticed while Hammond used brute strength to pulverise the goblins, Crane seemed to be attacking the openings in the armor, only using the proper amount of force for each strike before smoothly moving into the next one.

After about thirty minutes the goblins were down to a group of thirty and all the griffins were back in the air. Crane said, "Crystal, you can get off Keagan now, it's his turn to have fun. "

Keagan let the priestess off his back and ran to the goblin pack. He burned his flames hotter and hotter till he appeared to be a giant blue fireball running at the goblins. The intimidation factor caused them to abandon their defense positions and turn to run away. Keagan pounced on their backs and bit their heads off one by one. He circled around the, herding the pact where he wanted them to go, and played with them till there were none left. He was a powerful Fire Cat but he was still a cat and he enjoyed playing with his food.

After the last goblin died between Keagan's teeth, a griffin descended and landed in front of them. It was larger than a horse, but still smaller than Keagan. It bowed its head once and said, "Thank you," before launching off the ground and returning to the others of its kind.

Gained familiarity with Griffins  
Unless attacked Griffins will not show hostility towards you.

Crystal said, "Cool, think they'll let us ride them?"

Crane answered, "Not these guys. They're bronze griffins, the weakest variety of griffins on Versailles. Their wings aren't suited to flying while someone rides on their backs. I'd say they're somewhere between level 100 and 110."

Desik asked, "Why would those goblins attack them like that?"

Crane said, "I don't know. But they're all dead now so it doesn't really matter."

Hammond asked Desik, "Where do we head now?"  
Desik said, "Your guess is as good as mine, why don't we let Crane take the lead." Desik had figured out that Crane was leading them since he joined the party but didn't want Hammond and Crystal to know.

Crane received doubtful looked from the priestess and paladin on being the leader when he was so much younger than they were. To remedy this he said, "How about we let Keagan lead. He should be able to find this village."

Desik smirked a bit at the instant confirmation. He figured that somehow Crane had communicated with the firecat to search for a village and lead the less than skilled ranger to it. Desik had thought he was tracking the fire cat without it knowing but he was the one being lead on. He decided that after he go contribution points from the Church of Magni he would start training his skills from scratch. Being a high level without the skill masteries to match made him useless.

Keagan lead the group for two more hours before the arrived at the town.

Nothing that was going on made sense anymore. To Hammond, Crane was just a kid, but he could not deny that the sword skills he saw Crane display far exceeded his own, and he even got the impression that Crane held himself back. And that fire cat, Hammond had been through many adventures but that was the strangest battle he had ever fought. Fighting along side griffins while his girlfriend rode a flaming sabertooth tiger? No matter how often he told himself it happened he just couldn't believe it. And now not only was the fire cat leading the party, it had actually lead them to the town they had been searching for in the forest for the past three weeks. And for some reason, Desik, a ranger he had gotten to know pretty well, was extremely depressed! What was going on here?

Crane told Keagan, "Good work, I'll call you when I need you, have fun in the area and don't be seen by the villagers." Keagan nodded and ran off. Crane looked back at the group and said, "Ready to discover a town?"

They walked through the main gates onto the cobblestone road.

You were first to discover the Town of Goaston.

Rewards:  
Fame increased by 90.  
For a week the rewards and experience for the village's quests are doubled.

Crystal said, "We finally did it." She walked up to a passing villager and asked with a smile, "Excuse me sir, where is the head of the town?"

The townsman gave her directions and they made their way to the center of the town into a large stone house. They knocked on the door, and an old man with a wooden cane and a white beard that went to his chest answered, "Yes, what can I do for you?"

She said, "We are missionaries of the Church of Magni here to spread the word about our church. Our patron god Magni is the son of Thor and values strength and brotherhood." The elder stopped her there and said, "I'm sorry but we have no time for such things, our town is constantly being pestered by goblins."

Hammond spoke up, "We saw some fight a group of griffins, why would they do that?"

"Why? They don't need a reason, They do it for fun, to test out their armor and battle skills. They attack everything they can in the valley and forest beneath the mountain."

Crystal asked, "But why?"

The elder shook his head, "I do not know you well enough to share such things, now go."

After leaving, Hammond said, "We need to do public services for the town until he accepts us. But without knowing where the goblins are coming from, we won't be able to stop them."

Desik spoke up, "Usually they would be coming from some deep dark dungeon, we'd be given a quest to clear it out and the villagers would be goblin free. We could search for the entrance on our own."

Crane said, "You guys came here with the purpose of getting the villagers to pray to Magni right?"

They nodded. "You guys aren't thinking like missionaries, you're thinking like common adventurers. You need to get the people to believe in Magni, and killing goblins isn't enough to do that."

Crystal frowned, "You're right, but what else can we do? Preach in the center of town? Go door to door?"

Crane shook his head, "Leave it to me. You guys go hunt around the village and collect public service points. I'll convert everyone in the village."

Hammond looked incredibly skeptical. A kid saying he could convert a village on his own better than a priest and paladin? Crane was in no way affiliated with the order of Magni, he shouldn't be able to do it. But he had shown he had capabilities Hammond could not yet see, and he did not seem to be the kind of person who would make unfounded claims. "How do you intend to do that?"

"You'll find out later. Now shoo, shoo."

Hammond rolled his eyes and lead the trio around town. They collected quests from the people, usually exterminate some monsters that were in the forest or some goblin horde that was camped near the village.

They spent the next day and a half hunting wolves and goblins and even a rogue mountain troll that wandered far away from its territory. After they each completed their respective quests, they returned to the village. Upon getting through the gates, they noticed an immediate change. There were children running around, enjoying themselves and playing with toys. When the kids saw the trio enter, they ran up to them. One small boy asked the paladin, "Can I be as strong as you when I grow up?" Hammond saw this as an opportunity to give a church like answer and said, "Of course, my patron Magni would love to see you grow up strong and powerful, just make sure when you do you use your strength to protect those close to you." The little boy's eyes shined and he ran off. Crystal snuggled up closer to Hammond who smiled at her. Desik then killed the mood by saying, "Did you notice what the boy had in his hands?"

Hammond answered, "A little wooden toy right?"

Desik said, "It looked just like you."

Hammond thought it was a coincidence and they made their way to turn in the quests. Each person seemed to be happier to see them then they had been before, even strangers on the streets seemed to smile as they passed by. The group came to the middle of the town where they saw a large crowd that had both adults and small children. The trio made their way around the crowd to see it from the other side. It was then that they saw what was at the center. Crane was sitting down on the street with dozens of little wooden figurines. A Woman and little girl came up to him. Crane said, "Here you go, the priestess Crystal and her griffin companion." Crane handed the little girl a small female figure wearing a cloak and a kind smile as well as a griffin figurine. When she took it he said, "Crystal heals and strengthens her friends in a fight, just like Magni who values strength and brotherhood." She smiled and said, "Thank you mister." The person who seemed to be her mother smiled at Crane as she lead her daughter out of the crowd. The next person was a little boy and his father. "For you, the mighty Paladin Hammond. He fights with faith for those he cares about and uses his greatsword and great strength to defeat his enemies. And speaking of enemies, you're going to need an ugly goblin for Hammond to defeat." He handed the boy a small figure wielding a greatsword and wearing the same armor as Hammond, as well as a small pointy nosed goblin figurine. By this time Desik was enjoying the beet red faces of Crystal and Hammond, until Crane gave the next boy a figure of Desik with his bow carved onto the back. Then the pair got to enjoy Desik's expression.

Hammond walked up to Crane and said, "Where did you get those?"

Crane said, "I made them myself. I like to play oldschool tabletop game that involve little figures like these back home. I carve my own pieces and even get requests to carve pieces for friends. It is much easier to do in Royal Road though."

Hammond said, "Ok, so why us, why not just some nameless paladins and priests?"

Crane answered, "Because you have names and faces. The children of this village need heroes. And when they become happy their parents become happy. Giving them toys is like a ray of sunshine piercing through an endless storm. But because they see that the heroes are real, they can believe in it all the more, and eventually the grateful parents will believe as well. All you have to do now, is live up to that belief. By the time you discover the origin of the goblins, the whole village will believe in you, and after the goblins are defeated, you can change the subject of the villager's belief from you, to Magni."

Hammond understood the logic of it. But he was not sure which was more impressive, that Crane had come up with this kind plan or that he had the skills to pull it off. After another few days of the trio getting quests from the ever friendlier villagers and Crane distributing free toys to every child in the town, the elder of the village of Goaston came to them.

"You have done so much for the people. You have earned my trust."

Hammond asked, "Where do the goblins come from, why do they attack so often?"

The elder bowed his head down and said, "It is all our fault."

The elder explained that many years ago the village was prosperous, they had discovered an iron vein in the mountain and built a mine. But they were too weak to protect it. A mass of goblins discovered the mine and every goblin in a hundred miles gathered there. They mined the ore themselves and built a city around the mine. Now they build new weapons and armor each day, and purposely get into conflict after conflict to test them out. It doesn't matter how many are killed outside their city, when a group doesn't return the goblins consider the batch of weapons and armor a dud, and move on. In this way the armor and weapons get stronger and stronger over time.

"Please, the goblins are only getting stronger, you must stop them before their grip on the valley beneath the mountain become absolute!"

Free the Valley  
Goblins discovered a plentiful mine in the hands of weak humans and took it over. As their metal work grows, so does their strength. Free the valley from the terrors of the Goblin City.  
Difficulty: C  
Quest Requirements:  
High public service to Goaston  
If refused or given up, public service point drop to zero

Hammond hesitated before Crane said, "We can do it."  
Hammond looked at Crane. The group had be under the impression that the goblins were coming from a dungeon. But in truth there was a city of goblins. There must've been several thousand goblins, too much for any party to defeat. But there wasn't a time limit on the quest, there must be a way, and Crane had already stated they could do it, likely meaning he had some sort of plan.

Hammond looked at the old man and said, "We accept."

You have accepted the quest

Crystal looked at Hammond and said, "What's the plan?"

He answered, "We call for backup. I'll request a group of paladins be sent here to siege the goblin city."

Crane said, "Nope."

Everyone looked at him, before he continued, "We can do it ourselves, but I'm going to need some supplies. How much free time do you have over the next week, in the real world I mean?"

Hammond answered, "Some, but not too much. maybe three hours a day."  
Crystal and Desik said the same.

Crane said, "Ok, whenever you have free time over the week, come to the forest and collect some herbs and flowers, I'll show you the proper way to harvest them."

Crane lead them outside the village and showed them several kinds of flowers and herbs. Crane had the skill Medical Botany, when he saw an herb, details about the proper way to pick it appeared on screens in front of him. He showed the the technique to pick the herbs and said he would meet them again the following Friday at the edge of town. The more of those herbs and flowers they all collected, the better.

-

Do Hyup got out of the capsule and went to to the bathroom. He did his business and took a bath. After that he went to bed, it had been an interesting weekend, but he had school in the morning.

-

At various times throughout the week, each member of the party logged back in, collected herbs and flowers, and logged out.

The following thursday, after finishing his homework, Do Hyup logged back into Royal Road. He used Keagan's sense of smell to find as many of the herbs and flowers as he could within the valley, as well as do some reconnaissance on the goblin city.

When Hammond and the others logged back in on Friday they found Crane at the edge of town with surrounded by several piles of different herbs and flowers. He had set up a table and what looked to be an entire chemistry set on it with a mortar and pestle, a cauldron, some beakers, flasks, and glass tubes that extended from the cork stoppers of boiling triangle flasks into sealed beakers covered in ice with another glass tube pointed into the air. Next to the table was a pile of corked flasks that were each a third filled with some purple liquid that seemed to be the end product of Crane's chemistry.

Desik was the first to ask, "What are you making?"

Crane answered, "Siege weapons."

Crystal asked, "Are you making poison?"

"No, most poisons breakdown and dissipate harmlessly after being emitted. There is a way to make it last indefinitely, but that would require an incredibly rare herb that is quite expensive to buy. If I were to get enough to cover the city, it would cost more than the city is worth. That and the fact that there is a mine there. If I used poison it would seep into the mine making it worthless. This town's prosperity is dependent on that mine so that is not an option."

Hammond asked, "So what is it then?"  
Considering how much work seemed to go into its production, he was expecting something fairly impressive.

"It's perfume."

Desik said, "Ohh, that will be interesting."

The other two looked at him incredulously. He answered their expressions, "goblins have incredibly sensitive noses. Ironically they have no problem with horrific scents, but they can't stand the smells of flowers and the like."

Crane continued where he left off, "The reason I have to make and store these in sealed containers is that this is the highly concentrated form of the perfume. When one of these jars break, the liquid will immediately change into a gas and cover an area of at least a city block with the perfume. The smell is so powerful the goblins won't be able to move within the city without covering their noses, rendering an entire city unable to fight well.

Crystal said, "So you're chasing them out of the city?"

Crane shook his head, "Not exactly. If we did that, more than a thousand goblins would be released at once on the valley, this village would be destroyed."

Hammond yelled, "Then why are you making it?!"

Crane calmly replied, "We're not going to let them escape that way. The city is nestled at the base of a mountain, it has only a single entrance. Keagan will stay there and use his intimidation to keep them from leaving that way. We will attack the crippled goblins from within. Their only options will be to die at our hands, run out to be eaten by Keagan, or run over the other side of the mountain, opposite the village."

Desik said, "Ok, but how are you going to cover the city with perfume in the first place?"

Crane smiled, "That's the easy part."

-

Hammond looked down to see the top of the forest. A few miles in front of him he could see a small mountain range, and all around him were griffins. Crane said they could not be ridden, but that didn't mean they could not be flown. Hammond, like the other three members of the party, were being held up by their arms by the griffin's talons. However there were at least a hundred griffins in the air, and besides the four that carried the party, the rest carried a round flask in each foot. Crane had made a few hundred in three days using the herbs and flowers he and the rest had gathered. Some of the stronger Griffins carried a net filled with several flasks.

He looked over to see that his girlfriend had the biggest smile on her face. She caught him looking and smiled back at him, which in turn made him smile. However in this situation, he was not sure whose expression was stranger, Desik's or Crane's. Desik looked scared out of his mind, he was fidgeting around looking every which way, barely able to keep himself still in the griffin's talons. Crane on the other hand had the same look he always had, as if things like flying in the talon's of a griffon about to siege a city of over a thousand goblins using homemade perfume in a party of four members was a common everyday occurrence.

A few minutes later they arrived above the goblin city.

It looked to be made of both stone and metal. Smoke arose in over a dozen places. As the griffins approached, the party could hear the sounds of horns. However the griffins were too high to attack with spears or arrows, and goblins that ran a mine were not the kind who could use magic. They hovered and circled near the mountain, some landed on the side above the goblin houses. This caused another sounding of horns, only different. Goblins could be seen running up the face of the mountain to get within range of the griffin that landed there. But it was all a ruse. The first wave of griffin dropped the flasks onto the mountain side. The flasks shattered and purple smoke erupted from each. Somehow each flask produced enough purple to covered an area the size of two basketball courts about three feet high. It was also heavy, heavier than the air, it flowed down the mountain side Crane and the others were dropped off on the mountain. Desik elected to stay there and attack from a distance. Hammond, Crystal, and Crane charged down the mountain, following the perfume. To them it smelled like a thousand wild flowers had been jammed up their noses, powerful, overwhelming, but not completely unpleasant. They saw a horde of over a hundred goblins running up the mountain and more coming from the perfume fell down the mountain a bit faster than the party ran. When it slide past the feet of the goblins, they screamed at the top of their lungs, only to have to inhale to keep screaming. The powerful smell was to them, a railroad spike being driven into their skulls through their nostrils. They immediately covered their noses with one hand and began to charge. However Hammond and the party turned and ran to the right. The reason was because the griffins somehow caused a rockslide at the top of the mountain. The rocks picked up more rocks as they fell and even boulders came rolling down the mountain side. Hundred of goblins were crushed in every area except the one above where the party was. The griffins left that area untouched. The party ran into what was left of the goblins that ran up the mountain and killed them with ease. Crane took down one with each fast swing of his sword and Hammond took down two or three with each swing of his greatsword. The goblins could not hold a shield, hold a sword and hold their nose at the same time so their could not block the strong attacks of Hammond and they could not parry or block the swift attacks of Crane.

Hammond saw another line of goblins coming up the area to Crane, they had figured out that the griffins were avoiding that area. Hammond turned to Crane and said, "You know I've seen a lot of your sword but none of your spell, care to show us what you can do?"

Crane said, "Ok, hold them off for five seconds."

Crane stepped behind Hammond and then took a strange stance. Then he took a different stance. After that he pointed his sword, the tip of which started glowing and wrote in the air. He wrote the same symbol four times, a line with a triangle pointing to the right. Then he yelled, "Thurisaz!" and disappeared in a yellow streak. Crane shot like a rocket forward while shouting, Hammond just barely noticed that Crane's sword was glowing yellow with sparks coming off it. Crane had pierced the center of the column of goblins with what looked to be a bolt of lightning, but he was the bolt. Hammond and Crystal ran past the charred remains of the goblins down the mountain to Crane where Hammond asked, "What was that?!"  
Hammond had seen many spells before but nothing like what he had just scene.

Crane answered, "I stacked two physical buffs that require stances to activate, I charged my sword with several stackable magic runes, I doubled the stacked power by calling out the name, I then used a combination of the skills Dash and Power Lunge which after the buff of those two stances was pretty fast. It takes a few seconds to start up and around a thousand mana, but it my strongest move."

Hammond was able to follow what he said pretty easily and asked, "What if you stacked more of those runes onto it?"

Crane smirked and said, "Overcharging causes the weapon to... explode. Wanna see?"

Hammond said nothing. Crane took out a throwing knife and started drawing in the air with it. He drew the same rune as before, but he drew six times and called out "Thurisaz." After calling, Hammond noticed the floating runes were absorbed into the knife. It was giving off violent sparks and Crane threw it into an incoming group of goblins. Upon impact the knife exploded like a lightning packed grenade, sending pieces of the knife into the goblins and the others being thrown back by the shock wave. Crane continued like nothing happened, "A total charge of eight is the max I can give. If I give it between nine and twelve it will explode upon impact, and more than twelve causes it to explode immediately.

Hammond and Crane proceeded to fight goblins for the next three days. They still logged out when they needed to but overall they spent most of the time killing hundred of goblins. Because it takes two hands to hold a bow, the goblins could not shoot down the griffins and the ones who tried to throw spears could not aim well while holding their noses. When the griffins figured this out, they mercilessly attacked the goblins. They picked them up and dropped them from great heights onto houses and other goblins. They picked up rocks from the top of the mountain and accurate dropped them in the middle of goblin parties. The biggest strength of the goblins was their ability to fight together, but this just made it easier for the griffins to kills many with a single rock. The goblins had attempted to flee the city, but when they left the gates they found what appeared to be a scene of hell, hundreds of dead goblins outside with a flaming creature staring at them. They couldn't process the idea of getting closer to it, the fear it caused them was too much, the weak ones could only run back into the city and the stronger ones who were able to leave were eaten, adding to the corpse piles.

The goblins who hid inside their houses were killed by Crane while Hammond killed the goblin attackers outside the door. Hammond knew it had to be done but he didn't have the stomach to kill monsters that were cowering in fear. Crane went door to door, searching for goblins and killing those in hiding, though most tried to ambush him as soon as he entered the door. They found many goblins who had tied a piece of clothe to their noses to cut off the smell, but Crane and Hammond ripped it off, causing the goblin to get a nose full of the perfume. The moment it flinched, Crane or Hammond dealt the fatal strike.

By the end of the third day, the smoke had completely blown away, but the scent of the perfume clung to everything, Crane made it to do so. The goblins had completely evacuated the city, but only the survivors that climbed through the mountain. Keagan was tasked with finishing them off, an easy task considering he could smell them from three miles away and could sense them when closer.

Crane made a strange request of the party after they got Keagan to confirm the city was empty. "You guys can split all the treasure we found amongst yourselves. I only want the metal." The group had found many treasure chests filled with gems, goblins loved to collect such things.

Crystal asked what he meant. "I intend to learn blacksmithing, so I'll need ore. But to learn it I need my repair skill to hit intermediate, so I need practice."

Hammond exclaimed, "Ah, I see."  
Goblin armor was useless to those who weren't goblins but it could still be broken and repaired. The swords could be sold, but they could also be melted down into iron. The group agreed he could take all the metal he could carry and headed back to the village to give them the good news.

Crane stayed behind and collected the metal as the party left to turn in the quest. They had already divided the treasure between themselves, and despite Crane's insistency,they still gave him an equal share. Crane wandered around the city collecting ore that was already mined, ingots that were already made, swords and armor. He got everything he could, he even broke off the metal spear tips. Crane would store it all in the guild base of the next city he came to and would work on his skills. When he got a message saying that he was carrying to much, he took out all the metal and used Identify on every piece, sorting it into grades and taking all but the lowest grades. A few hours after they group left, Crane got a message saying he had completed the quest and gained two levels. He smiled, he had gotten about a dozen levels since the first battle against the goblin company. The levels and treasure were nice, but the real value he obtained was the skill proficiency and metal. He didn't get much proficiency for killing goblins which were a much lower level than he was but he overcame that with quantity over quality. He also got four skill levels in Sculpting and three in Alchemy. He would break and repair the goblin armor over and over again until each piece because dust or he achieved intermediate level repair and the swords would be melted into more ingots.

Crane brought up the party menu and clicked Leave Party. He regretted not saying goodbye but it was time to move on.


	12. Vol2 Chapter2 The Most Dangerous Game

Volume 2 Chapter 2

The Most Dangerous Game

Sarah, the elvish summoner, came to the capital city of the kingdom of Itsoeu for one reason, to head east. She got wind of a rumor that the first user to discover and enter a city gains mountains of fame. Fame determined the level of quests one could easily get, so the more fame one had, the faster one could get strong. Sarah started an account with her sisters and they were competing with one another to see who could become the strongest. Sarah had obtained an impressive level of 130, but was still behind her sisters. Itsoeu Kingdom was the easternmost kingdom of the center on the continent, centered between an extensive mountain range that extended north and south, the city was a gateway to the unexplored east. It was know that the north was too cold to explore, the south too dangerous, and the west had many people ahead of her, so she decided on taking the east. However when she arrived at the capital city, she discovered why the east remained unexplored. Itsoeu's neighboring kingdom to the east, Palmer, had its borders shut. According to what she had learned, it had a no outsiders law to prevent criminals from ever entering. Itsoeu kingdom had a treaty with Palmer that required Itsoeu to prevent any person without Palmer citizenship from entering the kingdom.

Her only option was to go around the Kingdom of Palmer, but that would take a minimum of four months. She didn't know what to do but she had to do something, so she got a job. Sarah found a job at the local Sorcerer's shop. Being a summoner she knew the uses of most of the items, and being a beautiful elf, she attracted customers back to the shop. Shortly after coming to the city, she found a quaint restaurant that served delicious food at a good price. It quickly became her favorite restaurant. Everyday after work, she would walk down a narrow street, giving a coin to the old man who sat there, and make her way to the somewhat hidden dinner.

One day after work, she saw a group of warriors beating up the old man. "Hey! Quit it!" The group dispersed and she went to check on the old man. The man said, "thank you young one," before looking up and recognizing that it was the elf who always gave him a silver coin when she passed him by. "Ahh, its you. I'm sorry to do this but I don't have much time left. I must ask you to do something for my friends." She asked, "Your friends?" He answered, "They died long ago, but their souls do not rest in peace. I sense you have power of the spirits within you, will you listen to my tale?" She could sense what this was leading up to, and quickly and calmly answered, "Yes, of course."

He began his story, "Long ago I was an adventurer. My friends and I explored together, fought together, and partied together." He looked like he was enjoying his reminiscing, but then his face turned to despair. "During a great battle, we were injured and took refuge inside a crevice in the shadow of a rock, twenty five miles southeast of here, just north of the forest. There we found a cave, and decided to wait there until the battle was over. But it was a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. The cave had many tunnel and was home to many monsters. We were caught off guard and ran for our lives. I made it back to the surface but my friends, my wife among them never did. I know they died down there. But their spirits are not free, they remain trapped. Here, take this." The old man took off a necklace with a small sword pendant on it. "Each of the five other members of my party had a necklace like this, please find them and take them out of that dark place and into the sun. I know once you do, my friend will rest in peace."

Free the spirits  
In the depths of a monster filled cave are the five necklaces of the old veteran's fallen comrades. Collect them all and take them to the outside and the sun.  
Difficulty level: C  
Quest Requirements:  
Familiarity with the old veteran  
Class associated with spirits

Sarah took the old man's hands and said, "You have my word, it will be done."

You have accepted the quest

The veteran showed a smile of relief and collapsed onto the ground. Sarah checked to make sure, but he was dead. She didn't know if it was old age, the damage from the men who beat him up or if he was just hanging on until he could give the quest. She placed his blanket over him and continued down the street.

She had made plans to leave the city for the dungeon, but first she needed to eat. She thought that seeing a NPC die would turn her appetite, but she had grown so accustomed to eating after getting off work and her stomach wouldn't let her skip it.

She entered the restaurant and ordered the beef stew. The burly barbarian at the counter yelled to the kid in the back to make it, and Sarah paid the man. She sat down at her usual table and waited, but through the door, came the group who she had chased off the old man. The spotted her and walked up to her table. She eyed them carefully and asked, "What do you want?"

They look at eachother and smile before saying, "Relax doll, we don't want trouble, and I'm sure you don't either. It's just that we heard what that geezer told you about that dungeon. We feel really bad about what we did, and want to help you complete the quest."

Sarah was not naive enough to believe him. Sure he would complete the quest, that part was true, but he didn't feel bad about hurting the old man, he just wanted the experience that went along with completing a quest in that dungeon. She said, "Sorry, not interested in your help."

The guys looked at eachother again and smiled before looking back at her. "Now now pretty missy, this isn't an offer you can refuse. I'm a member of the Lion Guild and we already heard the location of the dungeon. Once we report it to our guild master, the whole guild will make their way there. If you refuse our help, we'll make sure you never complete your quest."

Sarah recognized the name of the guild, it was a powerful local guild of Users, and in the city it held more power than most politicians. Any guild would kill to the exclusive rights to a dungeon, and since these guys already heard its location, there was nothing she could do to stop them. If the guild found one of the necklaces before she did, she would never be able to complete the quest. Any User could only have a maximum of three quests at a time, the only way to quit was to ask the quest giver, but the old man was dead.

At that moment, she heard a noise behind the group. "Excuse me, your beef stew is ready." It was the kid in the back who made the food, with a tray that had a bowl of steaming stew. The guy who had been talking to her said, "Hey kid, can't you see the adults are talking?" He knocked over the tray, spilling the soup over the floor. The kid looked up and said, "Are you going to pay for that?" The entire group burst out laughing, and after a moment the guy said, "Of course not, hahaha." The kid calmly said, "Then please leave, this is a place for paying customers only." This renewed the rounds of laughter and the guys said, "Well why don't you make me kid! Ahh ha haha!"

The kid then punched the man cleanly in the stomach, causing him to keel over. The guy next to him took out his sword and swung it down at the kid's head. Sarah almost looked away but she saw the kid's arm move up to block the blade. She expected it to slice through the sleeve of the chef uniform and the kid's wrist, but upon contact a loud ringing sound was heard, and the sword bounced off the cut made in the uniform's sleeve, revealing the blue steel gauntlets beneath it. The kid then bent down and sweep kicked the the swordsman. The other guys had already begun to draw their weapons, but the kid had already move to one, gave him an uppercut to the jaw, and spun around and smashed his other elbow into the jaw of another fighter. There were only two left and the first two were getting off the ground. They figured out they would be taken if they took the time to draw their weapons so they both tried punching the kid. He sidestepped one and caught the fist of the other, pulling him forward while twisting his own shoulder back, rotating the caught fist uncomfortably. He then back kicked the guy while ducking the punch from the one he dodged with a side step. Before the guy could retract his fist it was grabbed, and the kid pulled it over his own shoulder while kneeing the guy in the gut, just below the rib cage. The first two the kid took down got up, with a fierce gaze in their eyes.

The kid had taken down each member in a matter of seven seconds. Before the two could do anything, the head of the restaurant had come over. After watching his busboy take down the group, he spoke up, "What is going on here?" The kid turned to his boss and said, "These men had business with the young lady, but they are finished and were just leaving."

The first guy said, "We aren't going anywhere!" He was practically frothing at the mouth with anger. The head chef asked, "Are you going to buy something then?" The guy responded, "We're not going to buy anything at this piece of sh-" The chef's sword left its scabbard without anyone seeing anything, and rested at the throat of the man who had been speaking. In an even voice, the man said, "This restaurant is for paying customers only. Leave. Now." It was obvious that the man was an absurdly high level. It was far too dangerous to mess with him, so the group obediently left the restaurant.

Sarah could not believe what she had just seen. The head chef seemed to be a barbarian, so his skill was not that surprising, but a kid who appeared at least ten years younger than her had just taken out a group of grown men. She knew that in the game, the age doesn't really matter, what mattered was skill, experience, and level. However it was still a fact that this kid possessed all that, and was probably stronger than she was. She asked the kid, "Who are you?" She had almost asked, 'what are you.'

The busboy looked up at the elf and said, "The name's Crane. Can I get you another bowl of stew?"

On impulse she said, "Actually, my name is Sarah, and I wanted to ask for your help. Those guys wanted to take part in my quest, but I refused them. If they get to the dungeon first, they'll take the double experience and prevent me from ever completing the quest."

Crane seemed to ponder the lady's dilemma. She panicked that he would refuse and said, "I'll throw in a bonus, I work at the sorcery shop, I'll give you a discount on whatever you want there." On this the kid's eyes lit up. "Ok, I'm in. My shift ends in thirty minutes, wait here and I'll come with you to the dungeon." She panicked again, "But if we don't leave now they will beat us to the dungeon!" He asked, "how far is it?" "Twenty five miles," she answered. He told her, "relax then, we'll make it there before those guys do." She relaxed a little. If the kid said they would make it he must have a plan. A few minutes later Crane brought out another bowl of stew, Sarah blushed a little bit that she had completely forgotten that she had ordered food. She enjoyed it and thanked Crane for the food. When the time came, Crane, wearing a blue overcoat and blue feather hat, came out to her table. They left the restaurant and headed for the gate.

Along the way, Sarah felt the strangest feeling she had felt since first logging into Royal Road. Overwhelming, intense fear. It was like she was surrounded by an inescapable, shadow that brought death itself. She had never known such intense fear before, it was the kind that could drive someone crazy, but it lasted only for an instant. She collapsed at the shock, and noticed a few screams around her and several people fainting. Whatever had happened to her seemed to have happened to a wide area. Crane turned around and helped her back up. He said, "Oh, sorry about that, you wanted to rush so I couldn't wait to leave the city before calling my partner." She took his hand to help her get up and asked, "Partner? Wait, that was you?"

He showed uneasy face and said, "Yeah, my partner is outside the city and has the ability to detect fighting spirit. Strengthening my own for a moment is a signal between us. He will be waiting outside the gate."

"But that was so intense! How did you do that?!"  
She could barely believe that what she had just experienced had come from this kid.

"It's a learned skill called battle aura that lets you control your fighting spirit to have different effects, it can't actually harm anyone. Hmm, come to think of it I don't actually know how it affects others very well, I usually use it to scare away monsters and communicate long distance with my partner. My partner isn't really affected by it but I never asked the monsters who ran away how they felt."

"Well, that felt like I was being suffocated by death. Harm or not, if you sprang that unexpectedly on someone for a long time, it could drive them mad. Be careful ok?"

Crane nodded thoughtfully, "I see, I'll be more careful in areas crowded with bystanders."

She realized he had just said he would only use it in such a manner in areas without innocent bystanders, this did not make her feel better.

He continued, "It only has such a strong effect on those without fighting spirit, you're a magic user aren't you?"

She realized that although she had told him her name, she had not introduced herself, "Yes, I am a Summoner, and are you a fighter, or monk?"

She had seen his hand to hand combat skills and although he had not actually used a skill, she was confident in her assessment.

"Neither, I'm a spellsword."

Spellsword was the common term for classes that used both magic and sword skills together, though most were weaker than either a wizard or warrior of the same level. She asked, "But you used such excellent hand to hand combat skills."

"Did you know that you can go to a monk's guild and pay for lessons in hand to hand combat? I couldn't learn skill other than fist mastery of course but I been training with them for a while now. Since coming to the city in fact I have split my time between working at the restaurant and training at the monk's guild. I've been at the level where I can spar freely with them for the past week."

Although Sarah understood everything he said, it still didn't make sense. Why would someone who uses a sword and spells learn hand to hand combat skills when they could be advancing the skills they already know. It was common sense that a man who mastered one thing was stronger than a man who learned a hundred. Was this kid someone who played for fun, and didn't care if he became weak? But he wasn't weak when he showed his skill in the restaurant, and from what he said, those skills were learned recently. What kind of monster was this kid? Now she seemed to accept the reality she felt from the fear from earlier. This kid was not one you wanted to be your enemy.

They reached the gates and Crane lead her just pass a group of tree, beyond the guard's sight. Laying there, was a giant sabertooth tiger, with beautiful blue flames coming from its body. As a summoner she had seen many strange beasts, some of them conjured through her own spells, so the sight was not all that alarming. She saw it stare at her, but there was no hostility in its eyes.

Crane said, "This is my partner, Keagan. Keagan, this is the summoner, Sarah." Sarah bowed a bit and Keagan nodded his head. Crane turned to Sarah and said, "Time to get to business, it is your quest so it is your party."

She nodded and said, "Would you like to join my party?"

"Yes."

You have created a party

Crane has joined your party

Crane continued, "So, where to?"

"25 miles southeast, near a rock at the line of trees that leads to the forest."

Keagan spoke up in a low husky voice, "I know of the place you speak, a group of fifty headed in that direction not long ago."

Crane said, "We gotta beat them there, you up for it?"

Keagan grinned, prominently showing his teeth, and his two large fangs as well. The fire on his back died down and he knelt low. Crane hopped on the tiger's back and motioned for Sarah to do likewise. Crane bent over low and Sarah did the same, putting her arms around Crane's waist just before Keagan started in a run.

After ten minutes of running, Crane pointed to their left. Sarah saw the group Keagan spoke of, it was definitely the Lion guild. Some of them noticed that a flaming sabertooth tiger with two people riding on it were running past them. Sarah thought it was better to go around and not be seen by the group, but if they were seen it was likely because Crane had wanted them to be seen.

Another forty minutes later and they arrived at the rock in front of the forest. The pair got off and Keagan asked, "Should I eat them?" Sarah answered for him, "No! That guild is known for having many Users over level 200!"

Average players were around level 50, with the true gamers averaging around level 130. For a player to get to 200 so fast meant they must've been people who practically lived in the game. Crane said, "I've heard of those guys. Keagan, you can do what you want but if you die, I won't be able to summon you until we leave the dungeon."

Sarah didn't understand what he meant, was the firecat a summons? If it was a summoned spirit she would have felt it but she did not.

Keagan said, "I understand," and left for the forest.

Sarah looked at Crane who could tell what she was thinking. Crane took off a necklace he was wearing. "This is a storage gem. I formed a contract with Keagan, and stored his lifeforce within it, making him immortal. If he dies, he will return to the necklace, and after a while, I'll be able to call him out again."

As a Summoner, that sounded too good to be true to her. "There has to be a catch."

Crane thought about it and said, "Well, until Keagan can come back to life at my call without the necklace, 20% of all my experience goes to him as long as he is out. None of his goes to me."

20% less experience while hunting was no small sum, but it still seemed like cheating to her.

"Where can I get one of those storage gems?"

"Don't know, I found this one at a tourist shop, the owner didn't know it's true value either."

So no help there. She dropped the subject and looked around the rock. At one side of it was a crack that looked shallow, but upon closer inspection it was deep, and was in fact the entrance. They both slipped through the crevice into a wider passage that lead down a dark rocky path.

Dungeon: You are the first players to discover The Sunken River Caves  
Reward 100 Fame  
Double experience, 2x item drop rate.  
The first monster killed will drop a good quality item.

"Whew, we really are the first ones to make it."

Crane said, "Looks that way. Hey, if the first thing we'll kill in this dungeon is User, you think he'll drop his best items?"

Now Sarah understood why they passed the guild instead of going around. The little blue monster wanted to eat them. "Well, the message says the first monster killed, I don't think Users qualify."

Crane nodded. "Alright then, keep up your guard, we're gonna explore this place a bit before they get here."

"Wait a moment, I can help with that." She took out the level three summoning component Fairy's Hair, and buried in under some loose soil. She rose her staff and said, "I call upon the spirit of the earth, Summon Golem!" A magic circle appeared over the spot she buried the fairy hair and from it arose a six foot tall, with shoulders three feet broad rock man.

Sarah said, "Please help us explore these tunnels and search for five dead adventurers." The golem nodded and sank back into the earth. From the earth several small dirt mounds split apart and disappeared in different directions.

Crane said, "I didn't know golems could do that."

"Most can't, they just walk around and attack or defend, but that one was a higher quality summon."

"I could tell, fairy hair costs 78 gold."

"With my discount as an employee I only pay 56 gold for it."

Crane nodded and the pair hurried down into the dungeon before the Lion guild arrived at the entrance.

-

Khan was a powerful user and founder of the Lion guild. He named his character after his favorite historical figure, Genghis Khan. Behind that name, he would build up an army and become the emperor of Versailles continent. With this goal in mind he fought constantly in Royal Road, he spent most of the past few months inside his capsule.

In large scale battles he always used a method of leveling up, inspired by lions. An adult lion would cripple an animal and let its children finish it off, only he did it the opposite way. All his subordinates would go hunting powerful creatures, and he would always deal the final blow. This combined with the fact that he practically live in Royal Road made him one of the highest level characters in the game. He allowed only those most loyal to him to use the same method using his subordinates. Although anyone else in this power leveling scheme would suffer and get little experience during these hunts, they were too weak to complain. Besides, although they did not have strength, they had loyalty. The leader's power was their power, and the number of Users who joined Khan's group increased. Khan eventually founded a guild named after the method used to power level players. Every once in awhile Khan would choose another loyal member to receive power leveling, and each time he did, the group as a whole became more loyal, in the hopes that next time it would be them who would be chosen to become powerful.

They were idiots. The people Khan choose 'based on loyalty' were in fact rich users who paid Khan gold and real money to receive the power leveling program. Due to this Khan was able to make a living off Royal Road and his lion system. Through their money, both on and off Royal Road, Khan was able to increase the power of the Lions guild to be one of the strongest in Itsoeu Kingdom. Representatives of the Lion's guild went to various towns, forts, and villages offering protection in exchange for loyalty. With the reputation of the guild being so high many accepted, and now the Lion guild had direct control over those settlement's taxes and where it went. On this note Khan did not mimic his idol. Genghis Khan would often set a lower, fairer tax rate when he took over a city. The User, Khan, was greedy, and would squeeze every copper he could out of every village, and because only a handful of the guild's Users were high level, the protection the settlement's received was shoddy. The only time a powerful User from the guild came by was to quell any thoughts of disloyalty to the Lion guild. However even after all this, they were only the 2nd most powerful guild in the Kingdom of Itsoeu. Their rivals, the Copper Hearts guild, had possession of dozens of dungeons that only their members could use. It was a simple plan Khan hadn't thought of, find a great dungeon, station multiple guards at the front, and allow only guild members to enter. Due to these private dungeons, the guild members were able to become powerful without a power leveling program. Khan's guild found many dungeons, but their quality was poor. They found dungeons with powerful monsters, but every hunting party that was sent in was wiped out. The only dungeons that they could hunt had low level monsters that gave little experience. He needed to find dungeons with good monsters that gave great experience. If he ever wanted to surpass the Copper Hearts guild, he needed to find more dungeons.

A man entered his room, "Sir, we've learned the location of an undiscovered dungeon!"

Khan rose from his seat, "Tell me everything."

After hearing the whole story, Khan ordered every one of his strongest members to follow him. He even sent whispers to other members who had been on guard in other towns to meet him at the dungeon, though they would take at least a day to get there.

Khan didn't know what kind of person this busboy was, but he would not underestimate him. Khan's class was Shadow monk, when he reached level 200 he choose to advance to a class that specialized in pressure point strikes. No matter how strong the boy was, any man who gets his pressure points hit will lose all their strength and speed.

Forty minutes after setting out, the men spotted a giant beast running by them. One of the men who were beaten by the busboy was a hunter, with his enhanced vision he saw that on the beast rode the elf and the busboy. When Khan heard this he was furious. Although the dungeon's capture would pay off in the long term, he would still lose the Fame and double experience if those two got to the dungeon first. Khan quietly seethed, "Those two will pay for this."

It was almost sundown by the time they reached the rock. When Khan laid his eyes on the forest behind the rock a shiver went down his spine. "HOLD!" The guild stopped in its tracks. Khan knew this feeling, it was the same when as the feeling of being hunted by a powerful beast, something he had experience many times on his power leveling hunts. Every member of the guild drew their weapons in response. The priests readied their spells and hid behind the warriors. "There!" One of the men at his side pointed out a dull flame, shimmering behind the trees. It was that fire cat the pair had ridden. If it was here, that confirmed the two were already in the dungeon. "Vice Captains, with me, everyone else, protect the priests." With him were six Users who, like him, were over level 200, and two more would join him by the end of the day. Although the average Copper Hearts member was much stronger than an average Lion guild member, Khan's loyal unit of vice captains was a force that no one dared to touch. It was known that there were once three great guilds of the Kingdom of Itsoeu. When the Lion guild had obtained five members who were above level 200, the group systematically annihilated every branch of the 3rd guild. Now his guild had a total of ten level 200+ Users, one was on the other side of the kingdom so was of no use, two were on their way, and seven were about to kill whatever was behind those trees. The archers behind the seven men readied their bows and kept both eyes on the flame. The warriors did not let it out of their sight, and the priests stayed in the back, furthest away from the fire cat.

Khan smiled, a flaming monster trying to hide as the sun was going down was too funny. When he saw it before, he noticed that it looked a lot like a tiger. Somewhere in his mind, he remembered that he once heard that tigers hunt by circling their opponents, and jumping from behind. A cold sensation surrounded his body at this realization and he turned around and yelled, "From behind!"

The firecat leaped at the priests in the back, it bit off the man's head and had jumped for another before the group realized what was happening. The warriors turned around and attacked the firecat, but it was covered in flames and the moment they got close enough to strike it they caught on fire. Screaming burning men ran away from the monster while archers shot arrows at it. The firecat was large but agile, as soon as it was fired upon it moved behind warriors and engaged in fighting them. The archers separated from the warriors to get a clear shot, but when they did the blue flames grew in size and the cat ran at the group. It set them on fire and ran away before the Khan and vice captains returned to the group. The remaining three priests used purify on the archers before moving on to everyone else who was on fire, so the Archers were able to shoot at the fleeing fire cat. However their arrows were way off the mark, their wooden bows had taken extensive damage from being on fire as did a lot of their equipment. The guild being one that focused on power and money had no members with the repair skill. Whenever they needed better equipment they just bought it.

"Incompetent Fools! fifty of you against one beast and it got away from you!" Khan wasn't pleased by the situation. He lost three priests, four warriors, and the ranged firepower of his whole guild. He took a deep breathe. It wasn't any real loss. The priests were regrettable but the entire group wasn't the equivalent of one of their vice captains. One of the archers asked Khan, "Should we return to the city and repair our bows?" To Khan, the people there other than the vice captains were there for one reason, to weaken enemies so that the vice captains could finish them off. "Negative, you would need an escort to prevent that beast from killing you, and to prevent it from burning your bows after they were repaired." It was a wiser idea to make a few of the Vice captains escort them, but they were not as loyal as the guild thought. They paid for power leveling, and according to their contract, they had priority to newly discovered dungeons. Because of this Khan could not tell any of them to leave the dungeon and escort the archers back to the city.

"We all go in as is." The large group quickly found the crevice in the rock and one by one slip inside the dungeon.

-

Sarah and Crane had been fighting the monsters of the dungeon. The dungeon seemed to have been formed by ground water seeping through the ground and eroding the loose soil between the tightly packed rocks. The monsters of the caves were a variety of humanoid amphibians. The frog breed were wide, green, fat brutes that shot their sticky tongues out which latch on and pulled forward. They always were with the salamander breed, blue, skinny, long limbed creature with fins on both sides of their face where the ears should be and long sharp claws on their skinny webbed fingers. They worked in unison, the frogs drew you close and the Salamanders fought in close combat.

Thanks to the help of the golem, they had found two of the necklaces. They needed three more.

A small mound appeared on the wall and started shaking. Sarah could hear its voice, it said a large group had just entered the dungeon. Sarah turned to Crane and said, "Well, your prey is here." Crane smiled. Crane had told her since the beginning he would only kill the monsters she was unable to. For small parties the experience per kill was divided based on how much damage each member dealt, but if one of the Users was a much higher level than another, the higher level user would receive most of the experience after dealing any damage. Due to this, Crane would not attack any monster Sarah was fighting, only the ones she could not handle alone. She knew however that Crane was not simply being generous, Crane was waiting for bigger game. She saw the light in his eyes when she said the guild had level 200+ players. Crane said, "First things first, we finish mapping out the dungeon. They won't be going anywhere till they've done the same." Sarah smiled, this little kid was patient, but that just made him more dangerous.

-

Khan ordered his guild to four groups, each with at least one Vice captain, to split up and explore various tunnels of the dungeon. His own group was now fighting the amphibians. Although they appeared to be the same color, frogs green, salamanders blue, each has its own shade, with lighter colors around level 120 and the the darker colors around level 145. They came in small groups and had predictable attack patterns. But most importantly, the experience wasn't bad. Although his vice captains would not gain much experience here, the was a good place to power level to 150. By forming a raiding party instead of a normal one, the person who dealt the last blow would always get half the experience, This was a great place to to train.

Khan's group had reach another dead end in the cave system. They marked it on a map they were making and moved on, but before that, "Sir! I found something." Khan turned around and went to the end where the man had spoken. There, laid a skeleton with a shining pendant around its neck. Khan remembered that the little elf's quest required her to find five of these necklaces. Khan ripped it off the skeleton, parting the skull and the spine. The pendant was a small shield, with a tiny gem in the center. Khan put it around his neck and under his tunic. As long as he lived, that pendant would never see the light of day.

-Khan, I've spotted the elf and kid, I'm pursuing now.

The whisper had come from Doken, a vice captain whose level was 218, the second strongest in level behind himself. The vice captain and his group of ten men were on the path to kill the those two. Khan regretted a bit that he would not be able to rip that pair's throats out himself for denying him the double experience but he took solace in the fact that most of his vice captains were almost as ruthless as he was.

Three hours of exploring later he received another whisper, but from Elroy, a different vice captain.

-Khan, The elf and kid are down here in the lower east section. Me and Yorden and going to take them out.

He wasn't sure if he should be agitated or relieved. If the kid got away from Doken's group that meant both that the man was incompetent and that the kid may prove to be worth fighting after all. He brought up the screen to send a whisper to Doken.

-Did you lose the kid? Is he any good?

...Nothing, no response. He tried again.

-Answer me dammit! Are you there!

There were several reasons a person could not send a whisper. There were places where whispers could not be sent or received, jail for example. But he had been receiving and sending whispers since he arrived. That meant that either he was being ignored, or the receiver was not online.

Khan didn't think that someone could defeat his highest level vice captain, but that didn't mean it was impossible. Because he was the strongest vice captain, his went without another vice captain and was the only one of the four groups that did not have one of the three remaining priests. He decided it was better to be safe than sorry, there was one vice captain with him so he sent the same whisper to the remaining four vice captains inside the dungeon.

-Doken is not returning any messages, he may have been defeated. Protect your priests.

Borne, one of the two vice captains in the last group sent a whisper.

-Doken? No way. The monsters in this cave are too weak to defeat us.

-There are more than just monsters in this cave.

-The elf and kid?! You say they defeated Doken?! That's impossible.

-Elroy and Yorden's group are chasing the pair now. Meet up with them if you want.

Another few moments later.

-Khan... Elroy isn't returning any whispers back to me, neither is Yorden.

-... You and Xander get over to the entrance immediately. We will wait for the last two vice captains to get here. Send a whisper every 15 minutes until you get here.

Khan confirmed that Elroy and Yorden were indeed not replying. This was unprecedented, the busboy and elf couldn't be stronger than they were, the kid was working at a restaurant! The power leveling he used required at least twenty members to assist in weakening monsters during hunting for a period of four months. This guy could not be as strong as his vice captains, if he were there would be no reason to run away. No, he must have used some kind of trick, lead them into an ambush. If Khan were to do it, he would aggravate a large group of monsters and lead them to his target. The safest countermeasure for such a tactic was to regroup and wait patiently. He was not a patient man, but he was not stupid either.

-

"I guess he's not stupid." said Crane. Sarah had just told Crane that her golem said all the Lion Guild's member were heading towards each other, regrouping. She was amazed at how easily he had killed the guild members. From how he explained it, their power leveling raised their level without increasing their skill proficiency. He said it didn't feel like the warriors even had intermediate level swordmastery. They were like painted ornaments, strong appearance, fragile bodies. Crane had even used the terrain to his advantage. He lead the parties through areas with a lot of water falling down to get them drenched, then froze them solid with a black ice spell. The only one who wasn't affected was the high level vice captain. Crane dealt with him with unbelievably skilled swordsmanship. In the three minutes it took to kill him Crane had only received a single blow. When the man fell, so did his armor and sword. It seemed that double drop rate did extend to killed users, and according to Crane, so did the double experience. Crane then cleanly killed each of the frozen group members, one strike a piece. The next group seemed to be only marginally more difficult for him. It had two high level users, so Crane made sure they were completely soaked before sending what seemed to be an even more powerful freezing spell. The two still weren't frozen, but they were slowed enough for Crane to take them both on single handedly, without taking a single hit. After killing the remaining members, he took the drops for himself. Sarah didn't ask for him to share, no matter how rare or expensive the items were. She hunted monsters, and picked up her drops, he hunted Lions, and picked their drops.

The pair had finished mapping most of the dungeon save a few areas and had collected three necklaces. Crane said if the Lions didn't have the last two, they would find them after killing the rest. Thanks to her golem they knew the general area of every group in the dungeon so they could not run into them without wanting to, which allowed her to be able to hunt monsters on her own without worrying. Her multicast skill was intermediate, which allowed her to call up to four summons at the same time. While her golem kept an eye on the dungeon, her bird of paradise, icicle serpent, and fire fox fought the amphibians while she cast nature magic. She had summoned her water lizard, but had to recall it when she learned of the monster's almost immunity to water attacks and replaced it with icicle serpent, whose attacks worked just fine. Crane didn't help her in her fights, but she didn't need him, although multicast only allowed her to call weaker summons in groups and she couldn't summon more that one of each type, she had fought with her little pals long enough to work like a well oiled engine, a whole, greater than the sum of its parts. And just because he didn't help during the battle, that didn't mean he didn't help. After the battle he would give her tonics and food that had a rejuvenating effect. She fought with buffs gained from light snacks the whole time, and it was comforting to know that he was watching her back.

The pair made their way to the bottom of the dungeon. It was a large cavern, hundred of feet across with a large underground lake. The lake reflected the blue glowing moss on the ceiling, a common sight in most underground dungeons. At the other end of the lake was a pile of shining treasure. "This seems to be the place of the final battle." Crane said, Sarah hesitated, "This is the boss room right?" Crane nodded, "Yea, that lake is probably where all the water collects after being filtered through the rocks. I suspect it is filled with the eggs of these monsters, as well as the home of whoever is guarding the eggs." Sarah tensed up for a minute before he said, "Don't worry, he won't pop out until we take a step into the water, that treasure is the bait. It is probably the loot of every kill these guys have made." Sarah nodded, "So what do we do?" Crane said, "Well, there are two options, you kill the boss on your own, I can keep the fight just between you two but I won't help you fight him. Or we let the Lion's guild come down here, let them kill the boss, and take them out afterwards when they are weaken." Sarah thought about it for a minute. "Can you still take out the guild without using the boss?" "Of course, that way I'll get 200% of the experience for killing all of them instead of sharing with the boss." Sarah nodded. "I'll take him on." Crane smiled at her answer and walked over to the shore. She made some preparations, walked up to the water, and smashed her foot in, announcing her presence before backing away. The still surface of the water became violent. Sarah saw a large shark like fin speeding its way around the lake, after winding a bit it back and forth, seeming to increase its speed, it headed for the shore. Crane said, "Fight it away from the shore." She was sure there was a reason, but she didn't have time to ask. Crane stepped away from her as the fin approached the shore and a nine foot tall monster jumped out of the water with the name, Darkwell, hovering above its head. It was heavily muscular, possessing the head of a frog and long limbs with razor sharp claws. The best of both monsters as it were. Before it landed, Sarah begun her attack. The icicle serpent sprayed a frosty breath at the floor while the bird of paradise swooped in and knocked the creature's feet. It landed unbalanced and ungracefully slipped on the icy floor the serpent just made. Sarah and her fire fox simultaneously shot fireballs at Darkwell. The practice combo allowed them to merge their attacks into one just before it impacted the monster. The pair cast another round of fireballs but Darkwell had dug his claws into soil for traction and pushed himself out of the way and off the ice. It looked up at the bird of paradise and shot its tongue at it, catching and pulling the rainbow color summon into its mouth before crushing it with its rows of teeth. Sarah glanced at Crane to see what he was doing, but he was just staring at the water. Sarah ordered icicle serpent and firefox to attack and give the golem a chance to make a surprise attack. The snake fired icicles from its mouth while the fox shot fireballs. Darkwell jumped forward and from side to side dodging the magic attacks. It choose to take out fire fox first and jumped to it in a zigzag pattern. When it got close it swiped it arm and four streaks of water projected forward from the monster's fingertips. The water claw destroyed the fire fox as Darkwell turned to attack the serpent. The icicle snake changed its tactics from shooting icicles to blowing ice breathe. The longer the still wet amphibian was in the ice spray, the slower it got. It stopped outside the breathes range and waited. Nothing could keep attacking forever, but that was the opportunity the golem had been waiting for. The rock beneath it sunk as the rock around the feet shot up to engulfed it. Darkwell jumped at the last second but its foot was caught and dragged by the rock into the ground. Darkwell yelled and smashed the rock that trapped its foot, breaking it to pieces. The golem reassembled and fought the creature. Darkwell opened its mouth and shot a powerful water jet at the golem, sending it backwards into the lake behind it. Darkwell jumped in.

A rock golem could only be destroyed beyond reformation through the use of its summoners mana if smashed to pieces out of contact with the earth. Sarah recalled her icicle serpent and waited for the rock golem to be destroyed. The two most effective types against it were fire and ice, fire did more damage but ice had greater effect. She thought about what Crane would do and started her summon ritual. "I call upon the ancient being to fulfill our contract and come at my call, Summon Black Wolf!" She had just felt the golem vanish and had already buried several summoning components around the area. From the area she had buried the special component, cinders of black fire, came a black magic circle. black snow shot out from the edges of the circle, and a howl echoed through the cavern. A giant black wolf, jumped out of the magic circle, its size the same as Keagan's. Black snow fell from the wolf's black fur. As the wolf got closer to the edge of the water, the surface began to freeze over. Darkwell jumped out of the water just as the splash he made froze solid. While in the air it shot a water jet at the wolf who jumped out of the way and roared with an icy wind at the monster, before it landed, slowing down. However instead of heading to the monster, the black wolf approached Crane. For the first time since her fight began Crane turned away from the water and looked at the ice wolf. It bared its teeth at him before Sarah yelled, "Not Him! The big guy!" Crane turned back to staring at the water as if nothing had happened and the wolf turned back to the creature. But after yelling out, Sarah became Darkwell's target. He leaped forward to her and closed the distance in two leaps and shot his tongue at her. It latched on and pulled her off the ground into the creature's oversized mouth. Before she was eaten the black wolf ran up and bit the its tongue, ripping it off. Sarah landed on the ground near the Black wolf and saw that the end of the tongue was covered in ice. The wolf jumped at the monster and their battle truly began. They circled and jumped around each other, biting, slashing, and kicking one another. Although it was an ice wolf, it still had to avoid the water shots and water claws. Water that accumulated on its fur instantly became ice, and though it did no damage, it lowered its speed until it broke off. The same could be said for the amphibian, when it got close to the wolf's fur or got hit with the icy breathe it suffered from freezing, and was slowed until it waited to be thawed. Sarah watched the battle and wanted to help out, but she knew she couldn't. Crane had not said anything to her about it but she finally realized that the monsters within the cave were blind. They reacted to movement and sounds but without that they didn't notice you. Crane had not moved from staring at the water with the one exception and Darkwell never even looked at him. Although she couldn't attack she could still assist. She silently caste buffs and healing spells when needed, though the summon healing spells cost her both mana and health.

The battle appeared to be going in the black wolf's favor but that was only thanks to Sarah's constant buffs and heals. Summons had a notoriously low health pool and she didn't have anymore of the cold cinders of black fire to summon him again. She was already at one quarter health but the creature seemed to be still going strong. She only had one option, she had to give the black wolf time to charge its most powerful attack. Sarah drank the last mana potion Crane had given her and yelled, "Vine Snare!" Green roots shot from the ground and wrapped around Darkwell. It turned to face Sarah and leaped to her, breaking the vines easily. "Vine Snare! Fireball! Vine Snare!" Roots shot from the ground and entangled the creatures feet but it was still able to break through and dodge the incoming fireballs. Sarah cast a few more spells before the monster got close enough to send a water claw out. It was too close to dodge completely but she jumped to the side just as the the projected slash tore through her legs. 

Your legs have been crippled, you are unable to walk until treated.

She had only 18 health points left and she was completely out of mana. Darkwell rushed to deliver the final blow, but stopped when it heard a howl behind it. the black wolf had been charging its attack, black snow circled around like a small tornado. The giant frog didn't move. It sensed the danger from the attack and decided the only safe spot was where it stood. In front of Sarah. She looked at the creature's back and smiled, it was over. The black blizzard that circled the wolf shot out at the creature. It ran away but the black blizzard actually chased it. The shore was guarded by the wolf so it ran back to the crippled summoner in the hopes the spell would be stopped. It wasn't, the blizzard passed through her and Darkwell. Darkwell was frozen solid. Not encased in ice but completely permeated by it. Sarah was unharmed. A side effect of her contract was that the black snow had no effect on her. Crane finally stopped looking at the water and walked back to Sarah. The black wolf did not take its eyes off him.

Crane threw a potion to her and said, "Let me bandage those legs, the potion will take care of the rest."

A few minutes later she was back to full health and could walk. She then started bashing the iced boss with her staff. It took a few minutes of bashing and more than once she asked Crane to repair it because it was weaker than the ice. Eventually a crack appeared and with a few more hits the iced boss snapped in two.

You have gained a Level!  
You have gained a Level!

Sarah sat down and looked around. "Well, that was easy." Crane smiled and said, "You have no idea. Imagine how it would've been if the fight had been joined by two hundred monsters."

"What do you mean? Come to think of it, you did say you would make sure it was just me versus it. What did you do?"

Still smiling, he said, "I stared them down using Battle aura. As long as their boss was still fighting, they would continue to pop out and come to its aid, I just made them think twice. When the boss stopped fighting, they no longer felt the need to come up here so I could stop."

"Ah, well, what was that between you and my black wolf?"

"That wolf has good instincts, it knew who the most dangerous person in the room was. But I think I should be the one asking that question. That wolf is far too powerful for someone of your level to summon. Isa!"

The same black wave that froze the Lion's guild members came out of his hand and passed over Sarah, but nothing happened. "I thought so."

Sarah looked mildly embarrassed, she couldn't tell him what she had done to get that power, but he continued, "That black wolf is a familiar of Fenrir right?" Sarah looked up in shock, how could he know that? Could he have some connection to Fenrir as well? She had recognized the black wave as Ice from Niflheimr, the home of Fenrir, but she had said nothing. Crane said, "If you are immune to Niflheimr's ice and you can summon that black wolf, you must have made a contract with Fenrir."

Fenrir was a the father of all wolves, a massive black wolf. Fenrir's most troublesome aspect was his capabilities for growth, he became too strong too fast, he could hunt dragons like rabbits and even challenged the power of the gods. It was foretold that one day he would grow powerful enough to kill Odin himself, and cause Ragnarök. Due to this he was bound in chains deep in the ice of Niflheim, during the binding he managed to bite off the right hand of the god, Týr.

Ragnarök was not something people look forward to so any affiliation with Fenrir was generally frowned upon. If people learned that Sarah was a contractor of Fenrir she would chastised, at the very least, the Church of Týr would place a bounty on her head.

Crane asked, "So what's the contract?"

She realized there was no point in further hiding so she said, "He gets 5% of my experience for the duration of the contract, for every three levels I gain I get more of the component needed to summon the black wolf. I also gained a spell that lets me subjugate spirits, but I don't use it."

Crane showed no ill intent, only curiosity. He said, "What's the binding spell?"

"Why? I said I don't want to use it."

"I'm guessing it is based off a property of my ice spell, my class can learn spells based off the spells I know."

"So you can learn it? Alright, you can give it a shot, ask him to teach it to you." She pointed at the black wolf and Crane walked up to him. She didn't follow him, she wanted to go swim to the other side of the lake and check out the pile of treasure but Crane did tell her that there was two hundred monsters in the lake and she didn't think it wise to go swimming in the monster amphibian infested waters. Crane and the wolf seemed to be chatting. She then saw Crane raise his hand over the the water and shoot a chain made of black ice. It shattered before hitting the surface of the water and Crane went back to Sarah. "That went well."

Sarah nodded, "At least someone will get some use out of that spell. And now that my final battle is over, is it time for yours?"

"Not yet, those guys are probably waiting at the entrance for more reinforcements. While we wait you wanna kill the monsters in the lake? I won't kill them for you but I can keep the numbers down with my battle aura."

"Thanks, lets do this."

-

John and Chandra and just arrived. Khan updated them on the situation. Doken, Elroy, and Yorden, three vice captains whose levels were greater than 200 apiece were offline, most likely killed by a pair that consisted of a busboy with great combat skills and a female elf.

Chadra was the only woman among the vice captains but she was also the nastiest. She was a Dark Knight and a sadist, she loved to watch people suffer, especially when she was the cause. She said, "Doken was too full of himself, it's no wonder he died like a dog." John said nothing, but he was always a man of few words. Khan spoke up, "The last message either team sent back was that they were chasing the pair. I don't know how they defeated my vice captains, but if they were being chased then it was not brute strength." Khan turned to John. "I need you to find them." John was a spirit shaman who specializes in spirits of the dead. If he wanted to find someone all he had to do was ask a nearby ghost if he had seen him. John walked around a while before stopping in at Khan's side. He stood there looking at nothing for a while and then held his hand out to Khan. "Necklace." At first Khan wasn't sure what he meant, then he remembered the details of the elf's quest, and took shield pendent off his neck. He handed it to John, who stared at it for a while before handing it back to Khan. "It wants to be reunited with the others. It will lead the way." Khan let it hang down and noticed that the shield was dangling at an angle, pointing in a direction. "Perfect."

"I want to take point, it's the least you can do for calling me out here." Khan handed out the necklace for Chandra to take. As long as that elf was killed he didn't care what happened to the necklace. She snatched it continued down the tunnel. After two minutes she encountered a group of dark blue amphibians. One of the frogs shot its tongue at her, but she grabbed it and pulled the creature over the others all the way to her. She then took the end of the tongue and ripped it out of the frog's mouth before walking forward. Three sharp clawed salamanders jumped out at her together. She took a step forward and swung her hand axe. All three salamander's attacks bounced off her armor and fell to the ground in a heap of blood. She had cut off all their legs and arms. Khan watched the woman's work from afar through the screams of the monsters. When she was hunting she adopted a style that inflicted pain without killing. The monsters of course would bleed to death eventually and she would get the experience for killing them. The others in the group knew not to kill the screaming monsters before they bleed to death, most of them were used to walking down a corridor of screams, the ones that weren't still had nightmares. The pendent lead them further and further down for about an hour. Chandra was very inventive with her torture, she tried to never maim the same way twice. Her favorite skill was shallow blow, it always left the target some health, preventing it from dying from her high damage attacks unless she did something like chop off the head. Without it even a nick from her high level axe and strength would annihilate any weak monsters and spoil her fun. When they reached the lowest level, Khan noticed the last thing he expected to find in the dungeon. The smell of delicious food. "Hold it." The group paused and Khan took the lead. Down the passage was a enormous cavern with a large lake in the center. At the shore to the lake was a tall kid in a blue overcoat and a female elf. The boy was stirring a pot of stew that seemed to be the source of the delicious smell. Khan lead the group of thirty guild members and five vice captains down to the shore. The elf looked up and said, "Run!" The pair jumped into the water and started swimming. Chandra started to run after them when Khan yelled, "Wait!" The group turned around and he said, "Both groups who were defeated were chasing them. There is only one way out of this place, and it is behind us." Khan took a whiff of that smell again, "And it looks like the busboy has graciously cooked our meal for us." Borne spoke up, "What if he poisoned it?" Khan nodded, "Someone try it out, have the priests on standby." John walked up to it and picked up one of the bowls. He used the ladle in the pot to scoop up the stew and started eating. Khan and his men brought food into the cave but the smell made it seem like rye bread in comparison. As they watched John eat their hungers only grew. After a minute he was finished and walked up to the group. "It is good." "Me first," Borne yelled before grabbing John's empty bowl and rushing to the pot. Some of the regular members started to run as well, but Chandra glared at them and they stopped moving. The pot was small and was no where near enough to feed a group of their size. In fact it was only enough for Khan and his vice captains to have a bowl.

You ate delicious food  
Effects:  
+450 Life  
+15 STR  
+15 AGI  
+15 VIT

Khan wondered aloud, "Why would someone cooking for two make so much?" John answered his question, "Stew keeps." That made some sense, why make over and over again what you can make once. Khan looked at the opposite side of the lake to see the pair get out onto a small shore at the edge of the cavern wall. Chandra spoke up, "Hey, what's that over there?" There was something shining at the other end of the lake. One of the bowless archers yelled, "Treasure, IT"S TREASURE!"

Borne jumped into the water and started swimming. Chandra yelled, "Oh no you don't," before jumping into the water herself followed by the other vice captains and even Khan. It was apart of their contract that any loot they obtained did not have to be split with the guild. It had never been an issue before because they never found such a treasure in a while in a group with most of the vice captains. Khan swam as fast as he could, he was still the strongest of the group so even after a late start he was able to catch up. He noticed that most of his guild had also jumped in the water and were swimming to the opposite shore. He was now in second place with Chandra far in the lead. The nature of a Dark Knight gave them buffs every time they killed a monster, and she who had caused the deaths of dozens on the way down, was now equal if not greater than Khan in strength. Chandra had just about made it to the shore with Khan about twenty feet behind when Khan received a message.

You have gotten cramps.  
Movement speed reduced by 35%  
Strength reduced by 20%  
Agility reduced by 15%

It suddenly felt like his muscles were fighting against him, he couldn't believe that he had actually gotten cramps from swimming after eating. Chandra looked affected as well, but she had just reached the shore. She yelled, "What the hell!" The tall kid in blue cast some spell causing a black wave to shoot out of his hand at Chandra who showed some fatigue after getting out of the water. After if passed she was covered in a layer of ice. An instant later she completely broke free with a loud shriek. Now Khan understood how the kid had beaten his three vice captains. He must've used tricks like these to gain an advantage, but unfortunately for him, his opponent was Chandra.

Dark Knights don't have a maximum health or mana, but neither do they regenerate it naturally. The passive ability blood drink, gives the Dark Knight health equal to a percentage, determined by skill mastery, of the damage dealt to the opponents with each attack. The passive ability soul stealer, gives the dark Knight mana equal to a percentage, determined by skill mastery, of the maximum health of monsters the Dark Knight deals the final blow to before death. And the passive ability, brutality, gave death Knights stat bonuses, whose length depended on skill mastery, that were determined by the brutal method of the kill. Of course their active skills were equally as impressive, but most of them drained the Dark Knight's own health on use.

From the water Khan saw Chandra swing down her axe at the kid. He raised a thin sword to block but it fell and he received the slash completely. The kid appeared to be shocked, his plan to give them cramps and freeze the weaken vice captains when they got out of the water was rendered pointless. Of course her stats were lowered but she still had the stacked brutality bonuses from killing monsters on the way down there. She was practically invincible, it was impressive that the kid was still alive after receiving a hit. She slashed at him again but this time he backed up to dodge it, he had no other choice. He frantically moved around as Chandra sliced through the air yelling, "Come here kid, I got something for ya." Khan recognized Chandra's mood, she got like that whenever she saw blood. It was no different from a cat playing with its food.

Khan turned and swam to a part of the shore that was some distance from the fight, as did the rest of the vice captains. As soon as he touched the shoreline, he heard screams. He looked back to see that many of the guild members who were still in the water were being attacked from below, the water was filled with monsters. "Crap, Get out of the water!" Most of the guild, other than the vice captains, were too far from either shore. The amphibians of the dungeon would be nearly impossible to defeat in numbers while they were under water. The vice captains made it to the shore because their high stats made them fast swimmers, but no one else did. That still begged the question of why the monsters didn't start attacking until Chandra got to the other side. Did the kid prevent them from attacking? Did it stop when Chandra started attacking? No, that didn't make sense, the kid must've targeted the regular members and the priests, denying them to whoever fought against him. If even one priest survived then they could have healed the status afflictions of the vice captains and heal them throughout the fight. This made them the primary target since none of his vice captains were capable of healing others during a fight.

The rest of the vice captains got to shore but headed for the treasure. No one in the guild was stupid enough to interrupt Chandra when she was having fun. Khan looked around and saw something that was very out of place. The elf was sitting on top of the pile of treasure watching the fight, and next to her was a giant black wolf. Khan walked up to the pair ready to fight, but when he got closer, his wet clothes started to ice over. He jumped back before he was put in a frozen state, somehow that wolf chilled the air around it to freezing. That explained why she wasn't paying attention to him. She was sure he couldn't touch her. His muscles still hurt and if he approached her there was no guarantee he wouldn't freeze, the wisest option was to dry his clothes off. If that wolf was the cause of the freezing air it could walk up to him and the lake his men were in and kill them with a cold. Because it wasn't moving, it must have been some spell that stayed in one place so it wasn't dangerous for him and his guild to climb ashore and dry off. His vice captains all had the same cramps as he did from swimming too fast to the treasure after eating, so they didn't mind just sitting down and drying off while watching Chandra play around. Khan counted up the vice captains to make sure they all made it across, but there was one missing. Khan looked at the opposite shore to see that John was still sitting there. It seemed he decided to block the escape route should they pair flee, which was fine with Khan. While the vice captains were watching the fight, Khan was sizing up the treasure beneath the black wolf. There wasn't as much as he thought there was, sure the top layer was covered in gold coins and some shiny gems, but beneath that was a large pile of equipment. He would have preferred if the entire pile was gold, but if the equipment was good, it would still be a great haul. As long as he got it before his vice captains did anyway. He had to think of some way to prevent them from pocketing the gold. He looked back to his vice captains, it seemed they were all more interested in the fight. What could be so interesting about Chandra slowly chopping a kid to bits, it wasn't something they had never seen before. Khan turned his head back to the match and realized what the men had. Chandra was losing.

With all the stacked buffs from brutality kills, Chandra, even after being debuffed from the busboy's tricks, would still be a match for Khan himself. But the boy was dodging her attacks and even countering. Even though an axe was slower than a sword, with Chandra's buffs and level she likely had more stats at this moment than anyone else in the game. So why couldn't she hit one small child? Khan watched the match closely, trying to get his impression of the kid, but what he saw, he couldn't believe. It was like a movie scene where an old skilled master fought against some young arrogant fighter. The young fighter was faster and stronger but the master knew exactly how to fight against such opponents. How could a kid have so much more experience than his vice captains? A cold chill rushed down his spine at the realization. It wasn't that the kid was an experienced fighting veteran, it was that his vice captains were all ametuers. Their experience came from power leveling, and the system was designed for speed. They never had a hard time dealing with a monster since they always just dealt the final blow to the monsters that his members had weakened. Not one of his vice captains had ever fought with all their might against a foe more powerful than themselves. In fact when it came to experience, Khan's regular members each had more than his vice captains, but because they were deprived of experience, none of them would be able to defeat the kid. Cramps lasted 10 to fifteen minutes, it would take twice that for their clothes to dry. So Khan decided to wait for Chandra to die.

-

The longer the fight went one, the weaker Chandra got. Her health declined on its own whenever she swung her axe due to a power boosting passive ability. When she started fighting, her health was around 23,000. Not just from the monsters in this dungeon but from many other dungeons, it had been accumulating for months. She had obtained over a hundred random bonus stats from the brutality buffs, but that advantage was taken away by the muscle cramps. Still, her first attack easily went through the kid's guard like it wasn't even there, letting her know he was still far below her in power and skill. The kid seemed to be a state of panic after realizing her superiority from the first strike, and clumsily stepped backwards to avoid her next attack, even to the point of tripping over himself. She teased him with slow strikes just barely missing him to see the expression of fear in his face, but no matter how many times she did it, she felt something wrong with it. It didn't give the same feeling that it should. After a couple of minutes she decided the problem was that she couldn't enjoy torturing him without inflicting extreme pain, so she got serious and decided to start chopping off his limbs with Shallow blow. This time however she missed, and it wasn't by accident. The boy's face turned into a cold expression, like he was looking down on her. She practically started growling, she was furious. The kid had actually been faking, that was why she could not enjoy his panicked expression. She swung her axe rapidly at the little punk, an axe was slow but her agility was much higher than the kid's. However the kid still dodged, without backing up he dodged each of her strikes using a small motion of the shoulders, hip, and half a step. She fought like a hurricane but he dodged like the wind. Her health had already dipped below 20k, and was slowly falling, each of her strikes cost her health. She decided to rely on her combat skills. With the exception of shallow blow, she rarely used them, one hit with her axe usually killed regardless of whether or not she used a skill. "Axe of Depair," she shouted and reeled back for her power attack that never missed as darkness seemed to cover her axe.

The Skill failed to activate!

The darkness sputtered out of the axe and she was paralyzed. 'This can't be happening!' if a skill with low proficiency is used, there was a chance for activation failure, and a couple of seconds of being stunned. Sandra expected the kid to attack her mercilessly but instead he took a pose. The he took another pose. 'Is he mocking me?!' She could now move and used Axe of despair again, she didn't care if it failed, it was her only attack that had 100% accuracy at close range, no matter where she brought down her axe, the slash would appear on her target. She reeled back and slashed forward, it didn't die on her, but just as the axe was going down, the kid's sword slashed her with incredible force. 'He countered me?!' When attacked the moment you are about to execute a skill, the skill fails and the attack deals double the damage. The total toll of using her two skills and taking the kid's attack brought her health to 16k, and after taking a counter she was again, stunned. The kid then released a barrage of strikes of incredible speed. She swung her axe as soon as she could move to get him to back away. 15k health now. As a knight she wore several layers of armor, beneath her plate armor was leather armor, and beneath that was cloth armor. It slowed her down but her defense was of the highest quality. The kid was powerful to take her down 1000 health points in so short a time, but it seemed that using her skills took more health from her than the kid did. She continued swinging at the air, but then she had an idea, she jumped back to increase the distance and prepared Axe of despair. But the moment she hit the ground, the kid was already in front of her and was now initiating his attack. She tried to strike again but her axe was parried off his sword. She started panicking. She had been fighting too long, her brutality buffs were disappearing, the cramps were still hurting. She tried to attack some more but her axe was getting slower and weaker. She looked into the kid's eyes, he did not look at her like a person, he only saw her as something to be killed, experience points to be taken. Usually that thought would make her angry but now she felt frightened.

Chandra looked over to her side only to see that all the vice captains of her guild was on the shore, watching her get killed. 'Help me someone! This guy is really going to kill me!'

Her health slowly whittled away, she had not died once since becoming a Dark Knight. What would happen to her? She didn't have a max health, would she come back with some small amount of health, would she come back with zero health and instantly die again? Fear washed over her mind as she stared into those dark eyes.

-

Khan watched the match come to a close and whispered to each of his remaining vice captain.

-Half the treasure will go to the guild. The other half will go to the one that kills that boy.

The three remaining vice captains on the shore (John was still on the other side and didn't move after receiving the whisper) got up and slowly approached the match. The instant that Chandra was dead, they would simultaneously attack the kid. The cramps would be gone in another two minutes, meaning the would soon be at full strength, as long as they avoided that black ice wave. Of course Khan wasn't going to sit around and watch, he intended to deliver the final blow himself and get all the treasure.

A minute later, Chandra fell down dead, and Khan's 3 vice captains charged the busboy from different directions. They only needed to hold him up for a minute before their stats returned, and unlike Chandra they didn't wear three layers of armor or use an axe so they would be much faster than Chandra was. The boy took an odd stance just before the three attacked, and just before being stabbed in the back, he disappeared from sight for a moment, and stabbed Borne, who was charging from the side. The kid then removed his sword and slashed the stunned fighter with five consecutive strikes before anyone had figured out was had happened. Borne dropped dead as the kid turned and dashed to the next closest opponent and started up his constant attacks. The other one tried to circle and attack from behind but when he charged the kid moved to the side putting his opponent in the path of the charge. They stumbled into each other and the kid proceeded to send rapid fire stabs at the pair before moving back to attacking while while on the other side of the other.

Khan recognized what had happened immediately, his vice captains all had in their minds that three on one would be easy, even though not a one had experience fighting as a unit, meaning that they were actually weaker trying to fight him together. The fact the the kid could use their inexperience against them was also impressive. Khan abandoned his plan of attacking during the fight and decided it was best to wait for his last two vice captains to fall. After another minute Khan's condition returned to his prime, and he could tell his men's had as well, but it was too late. The boy had adapted to their ametuer attacks just like he had Chandra, they simply were not skilled enough to defeat him.

After a few more minutes the kid had killed Xander and was dealing with the last one. Khan was already standing at the sideline waiting, he realized that those stances the kid took gave him great temporary buffs, and he also understood the rhythm of the kid's attack pattern. When the last one died, Khan would not give the busboy a chance to make a stance, he would attack instantly. The last of them fell, and Khan dashed in. As a shadow monk he used his bare hands but with his skill Anatomy he could see all the pressure points on the kid's body and attacked them while dodging te kid's sword. Khan had so deeply imprinted the kid's sword style onto his mind, he could dodge those slashes with his eyes closed. Khan's level was 230, and unlike his vice captains, he had much fighting experience, probably not as much as the kid's but enough to take advantage of what he had seen. The kid's slash missed and as it smoothly went into another slash Khan quickly grabbed the wrist and disarmed the sword. It seemed the kid didn't know not to fight against a fist fighter at the fighter's range. Khan struck the pressure points in the kid's right hand, circled around him, and struck two in the back that prevented the left leg from moving. Now Khan had neutralized the kid's fighting hand and stances.

The kid threw his hand at Khan like a punch but opened it at the last moment and yelled, "Thurisaz, Thurisaz, Thurisaz!" Khan got struck by three bolts of lightning before moving to the kid's back. He had been so focused on the kid's sword and physical skills that he forgot that he could use magic. Khan knew somewhere in his head that this kid didn't make any sense at all, but that was pointless to think about now. As a monk he only had access to clothe armor but it was still a tunic of the highest quality a monk could get. He had no resistance to magic but those three lightning bolt hits only took out a fifth of his health. The kid's magic was weak compared to a mage, though he was lucky he did not get paralyzed, had he then the kid could have just struck him over and over again until Khan died or the kid's mana ran out. The kid seemed to try to run for his weapon, but Khan was no fool, Khan ran to intercept then dodged at the last second before the kid sent another lightning bolt. The kid was nothing if not impressive, Khan wondered how much vitality it required for someone to fight continuously for so long. Khan let the kid wobble to his sword while Khan made the kid waste mana on shooting lightning at him. Even if the kid picked up the sword, his weakened arm was useless. The kid finally picked up the sword and raised it at Khan. The tip started to glow and the kid actually started writing a character in the air. Khan backed away, he thought that without stances the kid could do nothing but it seemed that he had underestimated him. The kid wrote the same thorn like character four times, but then he dropped his sword while wincing. Khan rushed in, a skill activated by sword would need one to complete, Khan would attack before whatever preparations were complete. The kid stepped forward into the line of symbols and outstretched his right arm through them. He shouted, "Thurisaz!"

The symbols were absorbed into the kid's arm and the kid started glowing yellow. It didn't matter, Khan's pressure point attacks would still be in effect. Khan guessed that the buff provided magic attack to physical strikes, but the kid's arm and leg were crippled. The kid threw a punch as Khan drew in but it looked to be in slow motion. Khan moved to dodge but at the last second the punch's speed caught up with him and punched him right in the face. Khan flew back five feet back. When he got up he saw the kid take one stance then another. "Impossible," Khan said, was the kid faking the effectiveness of the attack to lure Khan into making an opening? That would mean that the kid was immune to pressure point attacks in the first place. For him to be immune to Khan's strikes, the kid must've had a Perseverance stat of over 250, something that wasn't possible without letting yourself get beat up constantly. Then Khan remembered something, the kid took Chandra's first blow, when he was skilled enough to avoid it. He must have done so on purpose. The kid was buffed now but it wasn't Khan against the kid's sword, it was fist on fist, Khan had home field advantage. Khan charged forward to beat the kid to a bloody pulp, the kid crossed his wrists to block but Khan's power attack couldn't be blocked by someone under level two hundred without a shield. Khan punched into the center of the wrist block so that when his attack blew through the guard it would punch the kid in the face. But the moment he made contact with the sleeve of the kid's shirt he felt steel, 'This kid is wearing a steel wrist guard!' Not only that, the yellow aura pushed back against Khan's fist like it was rejecting it. Against the hidden steel wrist guard and the aura, Khan was unable to break through the kid's guard, so he ducked down and sweeped the kid's legs from beneath him. Khan circled his body around from that position, bringing his leg into the air halfway through and bringing down onto the kid's chest in a powerful Axe kick. The kid definitely felt that one, but so did Khan. Khan's health was slightly diminished, the aura reflected some of his own attack back at him, but the kid still received most of it. The Kid rolled to his side with his hand against the ground, pushed against it while rolling and was back on his feet facing Khan. The kid still hadn't attacked since his counter, he was still trying to gauge Khan, just like he had the others, but he would find Khan far more difficult to anticipate.

Khan started a barrage of attacks, the kid knew how to fight bare handed it seemed, but this time the roles were reversed, Khan parried each of his attacks like an expert while giving him good punches to the face. The kid's aura and stance buffs prevented Khan from overwhelming the kid, but Khan's advantage was still clear. Like all buffs Khan knew that both would wear off, and as long as Khan didn't give the kid a chance to recast or make another stance, Khan would be able to destroy the kid. That being said, the kid still had one trump card. "Isa, Isa." The black wave that froze his vice captain's passed over him, frosting his clothes and chilling his muscles.

You have been slowed, movement speed reduced by 15%

The kid backed up and started taking a stance. Khan yelled, "Oh no you don't!" Khan tightened his muscles for a moment, activating his skill, Lightning forms. It depleted mana at a constant rate, but it increased his movement speed by 12% while activated. It would be faster but Khan rarely used it so its proficiency was lacking. Khan struck the kid before he completed the stance and continued striking him. Khan's health went down a bit every time he touched the kid, but that was only a fraction of what the kid was feeling, even with the kid's abnormal resilience, Khan would still be far in the lead with health. But Khan was being wary, the kid had more tricks than a bad neighborhood on halloween. Why was he fighting Khan bare handed when Khan was clearly superior? The kid showed he was immune to the pressure point strikes so he shouldn't have any problem using a sword, he also showed that when using a sword he could stack those spells of his and use powerful effects. So why fight bare handed? Khan keep up his vigilance why continuing to attack the kid. The aura was getting weaker and so was the kid, he couldn't use those stance buffs again so he could only do everything in his power to block, though Khan still got in about one out of every five strikes.

Now Khan was completely used to his movements, this kid probably learned to fight in the Fighter's guild in the capital city, the same place Khan had learned, which made the kid Khan's junior. The kid probably realized this by now as well, but it would do no good, realizing your opponent is more skilled than you won't lead you to victory. Or so Khan thought.

The kid bent down to try to take out Khan's legs but Khan saw it coming and easily avoided it. The the sweep was a ruse, the kid had bent down to take back his sword. Khan moved into the kid's opening, only to meet the tip of the sword against his chest. Khan backed up then moved to his side to attack, but again the Kid managed to strike Khan. What was wrong, why was Khan misjudging where the openings were and the distance the kid could strike? Then Khan realized that the entire fist fight was a setup. Because Khan had watched him fight his vice captains and learned the kid's fighting pattern, the kid's sword was useless against Khan. So the kid fought with his fists, using a different fighting pattern, and when Khan got used to it, the kid switched back to his original pattern, giving Khan false impressions of attack openings and range. The kid likely sacrificed most of his health in the fist fight for this chance. Khan was certain that one more clean hit would end the kid, while Khan still had about two thirds of his own life left. The kid struck Khan's leg behind the kneecap.

Movement speed reduced by 10%

It seemed the kid was also familiar with critical area attacks, and the speed of the thin sword was ideal to deliver such blows. But that didn't matter, Khan's speed from being slowed by the ice had returned already and this effect would clear up as well. Fighters like Khan who fought with their bodies had a passive skill called Healthy body, it slowly caused status afflictions to heal themselves. Khan's speed would return to normal within a minute.

The kid tried over and over again to strike critical areas that would slow Khan down but it was useless. The tip of the kid's sword began to glow again but khan stepped closer to try and disarm the kid again. It failed but Khan was able to throw the kid a good distance. However the kid flew further back than he should have, more than ten feet, the sword's tip was still glowing. Khan rushed to stop the kid but the kid drew eight single lines and shouted, "Isa!" Khan knew he couldn't make it so he jumped over the kid to use an axe kick while falling, no matter what the kid did, Khan's attack would finish him off, and nothing the kid could do would take out Khan's health before that. As his flying axe kick came down, the kid's sword glowed black and exploded. the black wave covered them both, and now they were inside a giant block of ice, with Khan's foot less than an inch above the kid's chest.

You have been frozen.  
You cannot move.

'How the hell did he do that?' It was in an instant but Khan clearly saw the kid's sword become black and explode. Khan tried with all his might to move, but to no avail, he looked down at the kid to see that his eyes were closed, was he dead? Khan was lucky that Frozen and underwater were not considered the same thing, no air meter appeared on his screen which meant his wasn't going to die from lack of air. This sucked, the kid must've used some suicidal technique to take Khan out and let the elf take all the gold. But there was no chance of that, soon, Khan's last surviving vice captain would cross the lake, kill the elf, and free Khan before he died in the ice. Khan looked around, and noticed that the elf had walked over to the ice block. However, even if the kid was alive, Khan was above him and very close, she couldn't get the kid out without free Khan first. She looked at the block and walked away. 'Where is John?!' John would've been able to tell when the other vice captains died, that was a trait of a spirit shaman who specialized in spirits of the dead. Khan's health was declining, though it was doing so very slowly, Khan still had about two third of his health left. It looked like the kid's last move was for nothing, it would take almost five hours for Khan's health to drop to zero at this rate, and before then the ice will have melted. That or John would break him out.

Who was he kidding, if John showed up, he would probably kill the elf and take all the treasure for himself, that's what Khan would do. He didn't actually know John very well, the man never had a conversation with him, or anyone really for that matter. The first time he met John, John gave him a bag of 10,000 gold, and asked for the account number he needed to wire real money into to get the power leveling. He never said how he found out about it, but Khan didn't care. Khan gave the man a contract to sign and John joined the guild. Three weeks later John was selected from the guild members as 'the one who showed the most loyalty' and was power leveled to 200. If John wasn't going to free him, his only choice was to wait for the ice to melt.

After twenty minutes Khan was starting to lose it, there was something wrong with this ice. First of all, it wasn't melting, if it was, the light that entered the ice would change with the water that flowed over the surface. But that wasn't the worst part, Khan was hearing sound, whispers against his ice cold ears. His body had long since gone numb but the sounds were getting louder, like whatever was whispering was getting closer. He didn't understand what it was saying, but the voice sounded like that of a woman, and for some reason it terrified him like nothing he had ever felt before. He had to get out, get out before who ever was whispering found him! He shook all he could but to no avail, and the whispering got closer.

After an hour, Khan's health was down half, but the kid was still beneath him, dead players eventually disappeared, was the kid dead? Would the kid's dead body remain in the frozen ice? And when the kid logged back in, would he still be inside the ice? These thoughts scared Khan, because he wasn't thinking about the kid, he was really thinking about himself. 'Would I ever be able to log in again? WHAT IS THIS ICE?!'

-Go to sleep

The woman's voice was clear as a bell now, whispering right into his ear. He was still terrified, but now he felt tired. He had occasionally slept inside Royal Road, and the need to sleep now was washing over him.

-It is ok, fall, fall to sleep now

Her voice was gentle, he didn't know why he was scared before, he was soo tired too.

-Fall into my arms, fall to me.

His body felt warm now, he was soo tired, he fell to her.

-

Sarah had been waiting outside Crane's black ice block for over an hour, when finally, the head of the guild's body disappeared in the ice. Sarah knew not to interfere with Crane's fight, but the fight was over, and the last guild member was still sitting across the lake. 'Maybe he can't swim?' Anyways Sarah didn't know if Crane could get out, so she sent a party message to him.

-Hey, since your eyes are closed, I thought you might want to know that the other guy is dead. I'm gonna break you out of there now.

After she sent the message, the ice cracked, though not from her. More cracks started to form, until pieces on the edges started to fall off. Sarah could see she wasn't needed, so she just waited and watched. After a few moments, the ice over Crane shattered as well, and Crane got up.

As he took the equipment that fell off the dead guy, Sarah asked, "How do you do that?"

"That ice has different properties than normal ice, one of them allowed me to break it like that."

"Oh, do tell."

Crane smiled after getting up and said, "Sorry, figure it out for yourself."

Sarah pouted and said, "I still can't believe you beat them all."

Crane said, "The first guys were easy, all bark no bite, you probably have more actual combat experience than any one of those first guys."

"Thanks, how about the last guy?"

Crane sighed depressingly, "That guy was in a whole other league, if he had just a little more skill proficiency, or just a little more battle experience I wouldn't have been dead long before. Before the ice bomb my life was next to zero and I bet his health wasn't even at the halfway point. I had no other choice but to use my last resort." Crane looked at the hilt of Owen's blade. There was nothing above it, the blade hadn't just broken, is was shattered in the explosion.

Sarah said, "Yea, how did that guy die and you stay alive? I mean if you had so little life and he had so much, why did he die and you did not?"

"He went to Hel."

"He what?"

Crane explained, "That ice actually only takes your health when your mind isn't focused, staying in there a long time is actually a decent training method, the problem with it is that when you lose your health, Hel can sense you. Hel is the daughter of Loki and a resident of Niflheimr. She collects the souls of the dead and can feel the souls of anyone who loses health inside the black ice. Regardless of how much health you have left, if you let her she can take your soul to Niflheimr, it's basically instant death. You know the saying 'Go to hell'? Well Loki's daughter is the origin of that one, go to hell originally meant die and go to Hel."

Sarah nodded and said, "I see, so what are you going to do about your sword? There seem to be a few in the treasure pile."

Crane said, "Not necessary. Besides, none of that treasure is mine. I killed the guild members, so I get their loot. You killed the monsters of the dungeon and the boss on your own. That treasure belongs to you."

Sarah wasn't sure what to say, the kid may have been like a monster, but he was fair. "So what are you gonna do about your sword?"

Crane looked at the hilt and said, "Take up blacksmithing."

Sarah wasn't sure if he was serious or not. The pair found the shield necklace in the area where Crane killed the guild members and Sarah was thankful it wasn't on the bottom of the lake, since she found the other one on the treasure pile she was done. However she still had a problem.

"Umm, how am I going get that treasure out of here?" As a spellcaster Sarah had relatively low stamina, she couldn't carry all that weight. To get across the water ahead of Crane and Sarah, the ice wolf froze the surface water and made an ice bridge. Sarah would obviously ask it to do so again so she wouldn't sink while holding the treasure, but she still couldn't carry it all at once. Just to get it across the lake she would have to make several trips. But how would she get it all the the city?

Crane took out several bags. "You can borrow these. I'll help."

Sarah breathed out a sigh of relief. Crane carried inventory bags. The space inside them was ten times larger than the outside, and the weight of the bag was one fifth that of the items inside. The black wolf made an ice bridge and the pair carried the whole lot of the treasure outside, Crane leading the way. On the opposite shore, Crane put down the bags and walked to the right. Sarah realized that there was one more member of the guild still on this side. But Crane was without a sword.

Crane walked up to him and stared. "Why are you here?"

Sarah wasn't sure what he meant, but the man answered, "I can see and hear spirits of the dead. The woman attached to that shield necklace asked me to reunite her with her husband. When you complete your quest I complete mine."

Crane said, "You could still complete your quest after killing us and taking the treasure."

"No. I have nothing against you, and to kill you for such a small amount is pointless. I have no problem with letting the girl have the coin, nor letting you having my former comrade's trinkets."

"Former?" Crane asked.

"Yes, I wanted to see the strengths and limits of the power leveling system Khan developed. He kept the system a secret but now that I have the information, I can sell it to the highest bidder. Besides, I have no intention of fighting a guild member."

Crane nodded, the Dark Djinns members were spread far and wide, and many were apart of other guilds while still of the Dark Djinns. After thinking about it, Crane said, "I was going to do it myself, but did you want to inform the guild about the Lion's current situation? I'm sure other guilds will be appreciative if they someone told them."

The man nodded, "That was the plan as soon I was informed you killed three vice captains. Since you succeeded in eliminating most of this guild, it will be all the more valuable."

Crane nodded, "That's fair, it's all yours."

Sarah wasn't sure what was going on, but Crane picked up the bags and the three of them left the dungeon, Crane leading the way and scaring the monsters off. When they got to the exit John left on his own, and Crane and Sarah had to take their time, getting the large amount of treasure through the narrow opening. Keagan was waiting for them, but before they headed out, Sarah asked, "Was it ok not to fight that guy? I mean he was your prey right?"

Crane shook his head and asked Keagan, "You saw the guy who left right, what was your impression of him?"

Keagan replied, "Death. That man had the smell of death around him, he was definitely the strongest of the ones who entered after you."

Sarah asked, "Wait, but he wasn't the guild leader."

Crane replied, "Keagan senses fighting spirit, if that man had the most it meant he had been in the most battles, unlike the other members who were pampered up to their level, that guy must have done serious training before or after joining that his former mates weren't aware of. To put it simply, one on one, all my best tricks wouldn't help me beat that guy. He has the experience to match his level or at least close to it, he would defeat me ten times out of ten."

Sarah was amazed, she had gained so many levels throughout the dungeon and had even exceeded her sister's level, but there were still people like Crane and the other guy out there that made her seem so small.

Sarah took out the the necklace the old veteran had given her, and the five she found in the dungeon, and held them all up to the sun. Six spirits appeared from the necklaces and floated in front of her. Among them was a young warrior who looked like the old man, and in his arms was a beautiful female defender holding a shield. They all smiled at her and floated into the sky.

Quest Complete: Free the spirits  
You have given peace to the party of adventurers and freed them from beneath the earth.  
You have gained a level!  
You have gained a level!  
You have gained a level!  
Your familiarity towards spirits of the dead has increased.

Keagan couldn't carry the pair and the treasure bags, so he just escorted them to the city, it took a whole day though. When she arrived, she heard a pair chatting loudly back and forth.

"Did you hear? The Lion Guild's territories have been taken over by the Copper Hearts!"

"What? No way!"

"Yea, and all their bases have been raided as well. All the Lion's fortunes have been taken!"

"But how? The Copper Hearts are just asking for it."

"No, from what I heard, all the Lion's vice captains, those level 200 guys died in some dungeon yesterday. They won't be back for another three days, when they log in, They'll find that they have lost everything."

"Woah, I wish I could have been the one to tell the Copper Hearts about that, I bet the reward was huge!"

Sarah now understood the gist of the conversation between Crane and the other guy, Crane had let him break the news and get the reward. Sarah didn't want to take anymore of Crane's time, so she stored the treasure and took Crane to the Sorcerer's shop she worked at.

"I know I told you I'd give you my employee's discount, but for all you've done, I think it is only right I sell to you at cost." To wanted to give him more of a discount but it wasn't her store, selling at the price the items were purchased from others was the best she could do. Crane bought a total of 1200 gold pieces worth of merchandise at cost, and left the store.

-

John was on the road to the west of Itsoeu Kingdom, the guilds established in the central kingdoms would offer the best deal for his info on the power leveling system. His haul had been good that day. Not only had Crane given him the info on the strengths and weaknesses of the system, he had also given him info on himself. Information was power in this game. Like the information that a coup d'tat had taken place in Palmer Kingdom. Someone had given the guild information that could be used to blackmail several of the noblemen of Palmer. The guild then sold the information to someone who used it to blackmail those nobleman into siding with him, and formed the group that now ruled Palmer Kingdom. Soon the borders would be open and users would be able to enter the unexplored east. John was the only member stationed there, which meant that Crane was there for another reason. Like he knew about the coup before anyone and had been in Itsoeu all along waiting for the borders to open. Yes, John had a feeling that information on Crane's capabilities would be worth a lot to the Dark Djinns. 

Special Info

Fenrir  
Most of what I said about Fenrir is true, but he was not trapped in Niflheimr and he has no connection to ice. Also he is supposed to kill Odin, but it happens during Ragnarok. I'm adding Fenrir as a major game antagonist, like my own Bar Khan.

Hel  
Most accurate, but no connection to Isa. Hel lives in the realm called Hel which is a part of Niflheimr, so it not that much of a stretch.

Isa  
The use of the rune Isa is slightly incorrect. Isa can be used to still the mind, which is the actual training method to increase concentration and willpower. I implied that the use of Isa is like a trial, but it will only be so in my story. If the use was accurate, wearing items with Isa carved onto it would be enough to cause INT and WIS to rise. I will still give Isa a use that causes items with it carved into it to grant the wearer additional INT and WIS.


	13. Vol2 Chapter3 Lessons in Fire

Volume 2 Chapter 3  
Lessons in fire

On the eastern side of the mountain range that lined the border between the kingdoms of Palmer and Itsoeu was a mining town called Naybi. After Palmer opened its borders a flood of people came in to explore the uncharted area, and Naybi was the first to be discovered. On the slopes of that town was an area filled with anvils and fires, and among the many people using this area was Crane.

Before leaving the capital city of Itsoeu he had gone to the blacksmithing guild. For those who had not chosen the blacksmith profession to learn the skill of blacksmithing, they needed to bring their repair skill to beginner level 10 and pass a test to prove they had done so. Crane had just been given a rusted piece of armor and had to use his repair skill to bring it back to maximum durability.

Now he was putting the skill into practice and making swords. The portable mana powered smelter made the process fairly simple. Put ore into the smelter, use it to melt the iron into a glowing liquid, pour it into a mold, let cool, open mold, hammer edges, quence in water, sharpen and polish.

He was doing it just like everyone around him was doing it, in fact he was doing it exactly like they were. There were few people who practiced blacksmithing in places he could watch in the last city which is why he left for this mining town in the first place. But his works did not satisfy him, even though he was a beginner he still had a ring that increased the effects of blacksmithing by two levels and a blacksmith's hammer that increased the effects by another two levels, but his works were only marginally better than the guys around him. It might be different if his handicraft skill was higher but it had only gotten to level nine while he was learning to cook at the restaurant. If he wanted to make the most out of his rune smith skill he needed to reach intermediate level blacksmithing at least, but his priority at the moment was to create a new rapier for himself.

There were no places to buy a mold for a rapier so he tried to make his own out of clay, but the resulting rapier was about as strong as the first rapier he had acquire long ago. Crane packed up his smelter, ores, and molds and decided it was time to leave.

"Hey, you leaving?" One of the smiths Crane had gotten to know over the past week had caught him on his way out.

"Yup, I can't get any better here, I'm going to find a blacksmith who will let me be his apprentice."

"Ha, good luck with that, blacksmiths have a hard time becoming the apprentice of someone skilled. And you're not even that."

Gotten to know and become close were not the same thing, this guy basically considered Crane his rival while Crane had not even bothered to remember his name. He had correctly guessed that Crane's work was superior to his own only because of his skill enhancing items and thought that because Crane relied on them that Crane was inferior to him. Truth was he was just jealous that Crane had acquired such rare items and was mad that Crane refused to sell them to him. Crane left without another word for the gates where he met up with Keagan.

Since Palmer's tourism was in low supply until recently there were no maps to tell Crane where to go. He could just take the road but last time he tried that some users got into a misunderstanding with Keagan which didn't end well. On the bright side Crane learned that if Keagan deals the final blow to a user without a murderer's mark or a lot of infamy Crane didn't get the murderer's mark himself. Still it was better to avoid roads.

Crane got on Keagan's back and he started running. It was default that when they didn't have destination to just run till they find a group of monsters. After about twenty minutes Keagan sensed a herd of Terror birds and ran to meet them. Since their fighting priorities were different when hunting, Crane got off and let Keagan do his thing. The pack noticed the pair and started their charge. For a group of Terror birds it was a small pack of about thirty. The levels of terror birds was determined by the area and indicated by the color of the feathers. These birds had green and brown feathers making them plains hunters which averaged level 110 or so. But when it comes to terror birds, the smaller the pack, the stronger the bird. Your average terror bird has a beak large enough to take off a man's head in one bite and legs strong enough to remove a lion's head in one kick. Crane guessed that with a pack this small their strength was well above average, possibly up to level 130. Crane used battle aura to make himself appear to be a predator who wanted the terror bird's territory. A group of seven broke off from the group Keagan was playing with and heading straight for Crane.

Although Crane had swords he could use, he found that the finesse rating of his form skills and rune sword skill took a hit when he used a sword that he wasn't used to, so recently he had been taking the opportunity to practiced weaponless combat. Using a combination of short dashing for speed and shouting for power, he smashed his fist into one of the nine foot tall bird's torsos, sending it reeling back. Crane had gained some confidence in attacking with his upper body, but he had not gotten the hang of kicking. He had practiced the forms enough at the monk's guild but he had trouble relying on instinct for when the right time to send a kick was. On this thought he decided to devote today to practice kicking. Crane weaved through the attacking beaks to the bird at the end of the group and tried for a series of roundhouse kicks. The first missed but before the long necked bird could counter, Crane's other leg came up and kicked the bird's head like a soccer ball. Roundhouse kicks were a pain to use but each lead easily into the next which made up for its weaknesses. Crane ducked the snapping beak that came from behind and gave the bird that followed him a good low kick, taking out its feet and causing the birds behind it to stumble over. Crane rose his front leg up then brought his weight down through his waist and onto his heel at the moment of its impact on the chest of the top bird.

The top and bottom bird died with a loud squawk. Although Crane didn't have the intuition to know when the right time to throw a kick was, he could still use them if he made the opportunity himself. While the remaining birds started to get out of their pile, Crane threw a barrage of punches at the base of the closest bird's neck until he heard the crunch that told him the bird's larynx had just be crushed.

Skill Level Up: Fist Mastery [3]  
Increase Attack power unarmed (+30% ATK)  
Increase Attack speed unarmed (+9% ATK SPD)

-Strength increased by 2 point. (+2 STR)  
-Agility increased by 2 point. (+2 AGI)

Crane had acquired fist mastery while sparing with the monk's guild back in Itsoeu, and since losing his weapon had been fighting without without weapons to increase his proficiency. Unlike weapon proficiency, fist mastery had the effect of increasing stats with each level the skill increased, something that highly appealed to Crane.

Crane stood straight and rose his right knee. When the other birds that had gotten up charged Crane, he struck each with a simple front kick in where Crane assumed to be the location of the bird's diaphragm. Crane was no where near the point where his kicks were lightning fast, and his accuracy needed work too. Only one of the bird's seemed to have trouble inhaling after Crane's kick, the other two swiped the points of their beaks at Crane's chest. His health only reduced by 15% from the combined attacks, so these guys were probably about level 125. That was not even enough to train his endurance stat. Crane didn't want to get bored, so he dashed past the two birds to the bird that had trouble breathing and grabbed its ankle. Crane took a massive leap to the two birds while twisting his waist. It likely weighed at least 320 pounds but Crane threw the breathless bird like a sack of bricks at the other two, releasing it on impact then jumping into the pile to deliver each one it's final blow.

After killing the last bird, Crane looked around the area to see Keagan playing around. Unlike Crane, Keagan was already an expert at close combat. He had already partially crippled a dozen of the birds and the others had run away.

Fire cats of Keagan's level were not magical creatures per say. Their hair and bodies were fireproof, but that is about it. Like all cats, fire cats can produce oil which covers their hair, fire cats just produce a infinitely more, enough to keep the fire on their backs going indefinitely. If the fire goes out, they cannot reignite it themselves, though the oil does keep their fur waterproof when it is not being consumed by fire. Keagan was able to increase or halt the production of oil, which dimed or increased the amount of fire around him, but that was all the control he had over it. Keagan could swipe a flaming paw, but he could not breathe fire, he could become a charging fireball, but he could not cast fire magic. For now anyways.

Crane calmly walked around the area collecting the items that dropped from the dead while Keagan playfully inflicted terror on the birds that were still trying to run away with their crippled legs. One by one the slowest was killed, but instead of stopping to eat, Keagan continued to hunt. Crane had taught Keagan that although meat was good in the short run, experience was more valuable in the long run. Most predators would stop to eat the first thing they kill, allowing the rest in the pack to escape, but Keagan had been trained to go for the experience before the meat. Thanks to this habit and the 20% experience leech off Crane, Keagan had grown to just above level 190, stronger than any fire cat that had lived in the area he used to call home.

After killing and eating the last terror bird, Keagan looked to the south and flared the fire on his back. Crane noticed the signal for incoming and regrouped with Keagan. Crane yelled, "How many?" Keagan answered, "twelve, but the pack is strange, six of these, and six of you, coming fast."

Keagan's language skills needed a bit of improving, but the meaning was clear. Keagan sensed the fighting spirit of six terror birds and six Users. For Keagan to say they were fast meant they were coming at a speed that Crane and Keagan could not easily outrun.

Crane smiled at the idea and said, "Interesting, finish your meal and stay calm. If I decide to attack, you'll know."

Crane waited in one spot for the group to come, when six Users riding on the backs of six terror birds came into sight, Crane didn't bother to act surprised. At first glance Crane saw that none of the members had their names in red above their heads nor did they have the murderer's mark, but that meant little.

Five of the six pairs partially surrounded Crane and Keagan, but did nothing else. Keagan was calming laying down on the ground in front of the eaten carcass of a terror bird, giving him an appearance that looked dangerous, but not threatening. The sixth member, obviously a spearman from his armor and weapon, got off his terror bird and said, "Who are you who hunts Terror Birds alone with a Fire Cat?"

Most people looked at Keagan and said flaming sabertooth tiger, the fact that this man knew the correct name meant he was no fool. Crane answered, "My name is Crane, and this is my partner Keagan. I came to Palmer looking for a good blacksmith and information at least a thousand years old."

The spearman looked pensive for a moment before saying, "You're in luck, a two week walk southeast of here is a town called Kenysis. It is built upon the ruins of an ancient city, and has several renown blacksmiths."

Due to the fact that several of these people snickered when the spearman said Crane was 'in luck,' they had given away the group's agenda. Crane knew that if he weakened a User without a murderer's mark and let Keagan deal the final blow, Crane would not receive a murderer's mark himself. This group was likely a team of raiders that killed wandering users through the same means, preventing them from getting a murderer's mark themselves. Though if they had enough infamy like the guild he destroyed not to long ago, Crane could still kill them without getting the telltale red diamond on his forehead, but there was no way to know.

The biggest advantage such a group would have is that if they did not have that much infamy and one of them was killed by their targets, the target would get the murderer's mark themselves. Targets who did not know this would receive the murder's mark which caused more of their loot to drop after the other members of the group finished them. And targets who knew about it were unable to deal the final blow to the group and would be finished off by the terror birds.

Not that Crane had to worry about this, if he received the murderer's mark he just needed to kill monsters for a few days and it would go away. And even if the group didn't know that, the presence of Keagan presented the same threat to them as their terror birds did to others, mark free murder. These guys had to think twice about attacking because there was the possibility that Keagan could kill all their birds, and themselves.

Crane said, "Thank you for the information, I think I'll head there now. But before I go, I want to thank you for your help. Is there anything you want?" Crane was goading them into making a choice, to fight or not.

The spearman looked nervous for a moment before saying, "What do you got?"

Crane smiled and said, "I have one month of hunting's worth of potions, stamina, health, and mana. Since you've given me a destination, why don't you take them off my hands?"

The spearman's eyebrows raised in surprised, he had probably not expected something like that. He said, "I'd be glad to accept such a gift, but before I do, I must ask how you obtained so much."

This was to determine the size of Crane's pockets, potions aren't cheap after all, and someone who could buy a month's supply was worth the risk to take down. Crane answered, "I did a repeatable quest for the owner of a sorcery shop, he made the potions for me himself."

It wasn't too far from the truth and gave the impression Crane was not rich enough to risk fighting him and the Fire Cat. The spearman nodded and accepted the bottles of potions from Crane. Crane thanked them for the info again and the spearman got back onto his bird. He motioned for the group to follow him, and though some appeared not to thrilled, they all left. Keagan looked at them and asked Crane, "Why not kill them, they intended to do the same to you."

Crane answered, "Two reasons. First he gave me the info I wanted, although he intended on killing me, I was still in his debt and I needed to repay it. And second, with that bag of potions those guys will rampage throughout the kingdom, and likely acquire a bounty. Should we see them again, I will be able to collect that bounty myself."

Keagan smiled a bit at the thought of eating those terror birds the group rode as Crane go onto his back and said, "Two weeks by walking huh, let's take this time to train your stamina."

Keagan nodded and began sprinting.

-

After three days and nights of travel, stopping only for meals and when Keagan ran out of stamina, the pair reached the outskirts of the town of Kenysis. Crane got off Keagan's back and entered the town on his own, Keagan made quite a scene whenever he entered a town and although Crane usually didn't care, for this town he wanted to enter without trouble.

The town's surroundings had worn down stone walls just tall enough to trip over, an echo of the ancient city that had once covered the area. The areas further from the path had stone walls and houses that were not completely torn down, within them were marks that showed recent excavation.

Crane wandered around the ruins for a while, searching for clues that could lead him to whatever runes the kingdom contained. But to no avail. Looters, diggers, and time all played their part in wiping the every surface of the ruins smooth, whatever was once there could not be seen. After about two hours of circling the town, Crane came across a group of high tents with several people walking in and out between the tents, some of them were carrying items.

"Ahh, yes, umm, who are you exactly?"

When Crane walked up to the tents, one of the old men Crane believed to be an archeologist noticed him and approached the newcomer.

"I am a newcomer to Palmer Kingdom looking for ancient symbols that were once found here 1000 years ago."

The old man wrinkled his nose and said, "We are all newcomers to this land, the natives have long since excavated this place to their heart's contents. Now you say you are looking for symbols that were found 1000 years ago? If you had any knowledge of the past, you would understand how vague of a response that is."

Crane in fact did acquire a great deal of knowledge from the past and had purposely given such a vague answer. If it was known that the knowledge he sought was a source of great power, he would not get it easily. Crane brought out a piece of paper he had made with a group of the runes he suspected were somewhere in the kingdom drawn on them.

Three more people had gathered around the old man to look at the piece of paper. It must have been a very slow day.

"I think I saw this one somewhere in town."

One of the younger men, though still much older than Crane, had pointed to the rune Kenaz.

Crane acted casual, "That's cool, you remember where?"

The guy remained silent for a while before saying, "No, sorry, it really seems familiar, but I don't remember where I saw it in town."

Crane nodded and said, "Thank you so much for your help," and left. Knowing that there was a rune here in the first place was an excellent start, and knowing that it was in the town meant he no longer had to look around the empty ruins. The journal he had gave a general idea of what the rune was but not nearly enough to comprehend and use it. On Kenaz it said it had to do with controlled fire, but not much else.

The town was thick with a variety of buildings and people. Some of the buildings seemed to be made of refurbished old stone buildings while most were made of the wood that grew thick in the area. Crane walked around trying to get familiar with stores and gathering what info he could from NPCs. Within the town were three blacksmiths. Two of the blacksmiths were Users, they worked together producing a variety of reasonably priced weapons. The third was a unique shop around the center of the town. It was obvious that it did not produce the same quantity of goods as the other pair, but the quality of that place's goods far surpassed the others. The shop had a pair of towering smokestacks attached to the back wall that must have been about seventy feet tall. The base of each looked about six feet in diameter that decreased with height. The rims of the top were likely about four feet in diameter. The back of the shop however was the most interesting. There were a dozen anvils in an area with a open use forging oven on the wall attached to the smoke stacks. There were three Users there who were hammering their own weapons on the anvils, and two more who seemed to be baking their hammered items in the coals if the pit's fire. Definitely a good place to train blacksmithing. The only problem with training here as opposed to the mountain was the lack of a direct source of ores, but the they could still be acquired through the trade routes.

Crane walked into the NPC blacksmith's shop and asked the woman at the counter if he could speak to the blacksmith.

"Oh, you want custom equipment?" She said.

"Something like that, I'm in no hurry so whenever he has time, please tell me." Crane took a seat in the corner out of the way and the woman went into the back of the shop. After a moment she returned and said, " He is just finishing up sharpening a new blade, he will be out in a minute." Crane had examined the equipment before but had not seen the blacksmith himself. It seemed that he worked in a workshop in the back where his techniques could not be spied upon.

A few minutes later a six foot tall, burly, muscular man stepped out from the forge covered in sweat. Wrapped around his torso several times was a thick iron chain and on his leather belt was the tools of his trade.

"What can I do you ya kid?" The blacksmith was incredibly imposing, he had a low voice and looked like he would smash you through the wall if you crossed him.

Crane did not flinch though, he said, "Hello, my name is Crane, and I wish to learn the secrets of blacksmithing from you."

Crane had half expected him to burst out laughing, (it would not be the first time), but the man looked over the kid and said, "Are you a blacksmith?"

Crane shook his head. The smith raised his eyebrows and said, "You expect me to accept a apprentice who is not even a blacksmith? You got a lot of guts, but don't seen to be particularly bright."

The smith only needed one look at Crane to decided that he was a foolish child who did not know of the world. Crane had to change that. He used his skill battle aura to extend his fighting spirit and show him that he had some fighting experience. The smith turned around and glanced him over once more, it had an effect, but not much of one. Crane said, "What can I do to prove myself?"

The smith said, "Come with me." He walked to the entrance and went outside the store, revealing the wooden buckler on his back. Crane followed him. The smith took the round shield off his back and put it on his arm. He said, "hit me once, and you can be my apprentice."

Crane took one of the swords he had made out his inventory. He didn't need the greatest sword in the world to beat him, just something to hit him. Crane use majestic stance and stacked it with noble step. Without a rapier he only got a finesse rating of 50, but since it was stacked they should be enough. Crane used his Dash Power Lunge combo, which stacked with his stances was his fastest attack. He aimed to fake out the smith with his charge, forcing him to defend his head with his shield, blocking his vision, then going around him and attacking from the back.

Crane charged, but the smith jumped forward as well, screwing up Crane's contact point, Crane adjusted his aim to above the shield, but was too late to notice there was nothing there. The smith had raised his shield to cover the fact that he had lowered his head, Crane's aim was completely off and since the smith had stepped in, Crane did not have enough room to step to the side. It was too late to do anything, the shield had passed under Crane's sword and through his guard. It smashed Crane's face with all the weight Crane had put into his lunge, then doubled it by sending his head back, followed by his body, ten feet to where he had started.

You have received a critical hit  
You have been dealt a concussion, all stats reduced by 40%  
You have been stunned

Crane was back where he started but on his back. His health went from full to less than 30% in one hit, he was too dizzy to get up, and his body ached too much to move. After a moment his head became clear enough to realize he had been hit too hard for it to have been an ordinary attack, it was likely the skill shield bash, at high levels the skill was capable of reflecting damage. Crane thought that if he had been able to use the full strength of his routines he would likely be dead. After that moment of clarity he became aware of the biggest headache in his life, like he had a mountain of bricks stacked on top of his skull, putting an enormous pressure on it.

Crane still couldn't get up off his back but the smith had walked up within his view. He looked at his with the same eyes he showed when he rejected Crane. "You think because you've been in more fights than your peers that you're strong? You think because you've had some bad experiences that you've seen the dark side of the world? You're a kid. And I don't let kids become my apprentice."

The smith disappeared from Crane's sight, though he probably had just gone back inside his workshop. Crane still couldn't raise his head off the ground to see. After about a minute his stunned status was gone and five minutes after that his concussion and the headache that came with it was gone. When he raised his head the first thing he noticed was the crowd that had gathered around him. While on the ground several people had looked at him to make sure he was still alive, and it seemed they were collecting around him.

One of the guys Crane had previously seen working at an anvil said, "You tried to be his apprentice huh, I ain't never seen someone get rejected so bad man."

A woman said, "What about when the Blade Brothers asked him?"

Another man said, "Oh yea, that was epic!"

The blade brothers were the pair of Users who operated on the other side of the town. It seemed that Crane was far from the first person to ask this blacksmith for apprenticeship. Crane broke out some of what was left of his homemade potions and got ready for round two. Crane walked into the smith's shop and said, "Again."

The smith was putting weapons in the display and said, "Selfish kids don't think of anyone but themselves. I'm too busy to entertain you all day."

Crane lowered his gaze in shame, then after a moment said meekly, "Tomorrow?"

The smith let out a sigh and said, "Fine, once a day is all I will spare you."

Crane bowed his head and thanked him graciously.

-

Crane wandered around town, practiced blacksmithing behind the smith's shop for a while, and logged out. Time in Royal Road was four times faster than in real life, so if he spent four hours in real life, sixteen hours would pass in royal road. He looked at the clock and it was already midnight. Do Hyup got out of the capsule and onto the chair next to it, then moved from that to his bed. He set the clock for 5am and drifted to sleep.

At 4:56 a.m. he woke up. For some reason he always woke up just before he set his alarm. It was Sunday morning and he had one day left before his school week started. After taking a shower, eating breakfast, and changing the battery pack on his muscle stimulator, Hyup got back into the capsule just before 6am.

Connect to Royal Road?

Yes|No

He answered, "Yes."

Back in Kenysis, Crane made his way to the smith's shop and said to the woman at the counter, "Hello again." She looked at Crane, rolled her eyes and said, "Please wait in the corner."

Crane waited for about two hours before the smith came out to put a sword in the case and saw Crane was sitting in the corner. The smith motioned for Crane to follow him outside again, without saying a word. He equipped his buckler and Crane got into the same position he was in last time. Before anything started, a crowd had already formed around him. Crane recognized half the faces there as the same ones from yesterday. Crane took out his sword and walked forward. However the smith didn't wait, he took the chain from his waist and let a few feet of it fall to the ground. Crane stopped and took Noble Step and Regal Guard's stance. This increased his movement speed, time perception, total defense, and luck. Crane was unsure of how the smith with attack with a chain, but no matter what he did, Crane would be prepared to dodge, counter, or parry anything he threw at him. The smith stepped forward, twisted his waist, and threw out his arm. It happened faster than a person could blink but to Crane it took about three seconds. The tip of the chain was hurtling towards Crane's wrist, he had a small flashback of the first time he had been in a fight, when his instructor had slashed his wrist. Crane used his increased time perception to slash the chain away to parry it. His sword caught the first chain link in the middle of his slash and the rest of it threw the trajectory of the chain to the side. After the movement passed his time perception returned to normal, but the chain kept coming. The parry had diverted about three feet of chain to his left but the chain behind that continued straight as an arrow, scraping by his wrist.

The parry was useless, Crane realized that since a chain didn't have a solid connection throughout, parrying one segment does not parry all of the weapon. The smith shook the chain from his end and Crane attempted to move to his side away from the chain. The wave flowed down the chain and when it reached Crane's distance the smith pulled it, causing the chain to chase and wrap around Crane's torso before he could duck under it. The next instant Crane was in the air with the chain tightly around him and being pulled to the smith. Crane's arms were bound but his instincts had kicked in. Crane revolved his legs using the movements of a round house kick to turn his body so his legs were facing the man's shield. As Crane's flying kick was about to land straight on the small round shield, it slightly tilted up and raised. The instant Crane's foot made contact the shield bumped it, causing Crane's kick to bounce off. The shield retracted enough for the smith to give another full power shield bash to Crane's face. Crane's center of gravity was still falling forward past the shield that got plowed into his face, twisting his body over in a complete rotation before face planting into the ground.

You have received a critical hit  
You have been dealt a concussion, all stats reduced by 40%  
You have been stunned

"OOOhhhh!" The crowd around him simultaneous winced at the hit.

The smith tugged up the chain causing Crane to be thrown into the air a bit and land on the ground again. After wrapping the chain back around his torso he went back into his shop, leaving Crane on the ground with the words, "Each skill has a weakness, only a kid would think that learning many skills would make you stronger," before disappearing behind the wall.

"Did you see that?! The dude did a complete flip in the air! Someone check to see if he's still alive."

Listening to the spectator, Crane looked back to his health bar. He had a bit more health than last time but the fight lasted only a few seconds longer, and two of those seconds involved Crane being tossed in the air. When someone looked at Crane he met their eyes to shown he was still conscious and alive. The one good thing about a crowd was that their were too many witnesses to pickpocket him while he laid there stunned with another massive headache.

Losing twice to someone with no signs of improvement was the kind of thing to discourage your average fellow, but this was too similar to his training back at Yarsan. Back then, everyday was a series of losses against the same person who was far superior to Crane. Each battle brought to light one of Crane's many weaknesses which was a fine way to get rid of them. Although Crane was a jack of all trades class, that did not mean he had to learn every method of fighting possible. It was better to further the training of what he had.

After his headache wore off, Crane got up and wandered around the town looking for a good place to fight. Back in Itsoeu Crane had annihilated a guild with the worse reputation in the kingdom, and in doing so his fame had jumped to about 600. It allowed him to get some information off NPCs without familiarity, though not much. He was able to locate the area Users gathered before going outside the town.

-Hunting Party, looking for tracker  
-Dungeon Party, need priest.  
-Need Ranged Attacker!  
-Need Tank!

Various players shouted out what they needed for a party, usually some specific specialist. Few people wanted a jack of all trades class.

Two men walked up to Crane, from the equipment he estimated a level 120 wizard and level 130 knight.

"Hey kid, need a party?"

Another hurdle he had to face when playing was that most Users were at least five years older than him, so they usually looked down on him. Crane sighed and replied, "I'm looking for a place to train, I specialize in mid range attacks." It wasn't a complete lie, although he didn't specialize in anything, he could deal the most damage at mid range with dash powered attacks.

"What level are you kid?"

Crane remained silent. Telling them he was far above their levels would make them leave, either because they wouldn't believe him or because they would. If he joined their low level party, he would get most of the experience for any monster he dealt damage to, a system which prevented high level Users from assisting in the leveling of low levels.

The Knight spoke up, "Nothing to say huh? Rude little punk."

Just then Crane got an idea. He said, "Who are you calling a punk old man, I would wipe the floor with you."

The man tensed up and said in a low growl, "Why you... You wanna die little turd!"

Crane smiled mockingly and said, "Bring it on geezer."

The knight took a deep breath and moved his fingers in the air a bit. Crane looked around and saw he had gathered a crowd.

A Knight has requested a duel. Due to the difference in level, rejection will lower fame.

Accept|Reject

If the Knight had been close to Crane's level or stronger Crane would receive some compensation for winning, but beating up someone weaker than you gave no such rewards. If Crane had challenged the Knight, the message would likely have included that defeating Crane would yield vast fame and Honor for the knight, but that would also reveal Crane's level. To prevent this Crane got the Knight to challenge him instead.

Crane motioned for the people around him to move away, and equipped his sword. "Accept."

A small countdown began in the top corner of his vision from ten. One aspect of duels is complete fairness, any buffs Crane used or had before the duel began were lost when the countdown reached zero, so he couldn't use his stances. Not that he needed to against this level of opponent. The only problem was that the Knight's sword was much stronger than Crane's. Crane was still using the sword he made himself, it was his best sword but it only had an attack strength of 13, compared to the Knight's greatsword which Crane recognized and knew to have an attack of 30. Crane didn't mind though, it was only fair that he had some handicap.

The timer hit zero and Crane dashed forward. then to the side, After the fight yesterday he decided charging into an unknown opponent was no longer a great idea. The knight's sixth sense ability would allow his to know the position of enemies which covered the Knight's blind spots. He didn't even have to look to know that Crane was at his seven o'clock trying to strike his legs. The knight swung his greatsword while shifting his stance by stepping back. Now Crane was in front of him and about to be sliced in two. Crane remembered the technique that the smith used on him and tried it himself. Crane moved his blue steel wrist guard in the path of the greatsword at an angle. The moment before it made contact Crane slammed his wrist into the blade of the sword, bumping it up along the angled guard, and using the force to push his own body down beneath the blade.

You have parried a strong blow, chance of parrying raised by 1.5%

Crane still took a good deal of damage and his arm had gone numb but it was worth it to try out the smith's move. To the spectators it looked like the greatsword had jumped over Crane's body, and since Crane's sword was in his other hand and the blue steel wrist guard was covered by a sleeve, people had no idea what had happened. The large sword's momentum continued it through creating a large opening for Crane to attack. However Crane still had another problem, even with his strength, his sword would not be able to deal much damage through the knight's armor. If Crane tried, the sword would shatter before the knight. Instead of using the opening to attack, Crane put his hand on the knight's armor and said, "Isa, Isa, Isa, Isa!" A black aura spread from Crane's hand over the knight's armor, causing thick ice to grow over the iron sheet. If Crane's INT had match his level he would have gotten the same effect with a single rune call, but he put more of his stats each level into strength and agility instead of intellect and wisdom, so he had to waste almost 2k mana to get a decent ice sheet over the knight's armor. The knight hurried to take off his armor before it killed him. A moment later the full plate was inside a block of ice on the ground. Crane looked at the knight to see that his suspicions were true, the knight was a full tank type who wore cloth armor beneath chain mail beneath a full plate. Crane's own defense was very high, but his was nothing compared to the knight's. However now that the full plate was gone, so was at least half his defense. Crane's sword would be able to deal sufficient damage.

For the next five minutes Crane slowly ate away at the knight's health. Crane's body was fleet and nimble compared to the knight's and the man's greatsword did not touch Crane unless he wanted it to. Breathing heavily, the man said, "Wait!.. I yield."

The knight wishes to resign, you can accept under conditions, accept without conditions, or refuse to accept.

Crane could force to Knight to give Crane whatever he wanted, but doing so would look bad, so he said, "I accept. Next time, don't judge a book by it's cover."

You have shown mercy and asked for nothing.  
Fame rises by 5 points (+5 Fame)

Crane made his way to a pile of rubble and sat down. After sliding up his sleeve he put his hand over the blue steel guard that now had a large dent in it and said, "Repair." The wristguard glowed a bit then went back to normal, it's condition restored. One of e the perks of having intermediate level repair is that as long as the equipment isn't destroyed, it can be repaired to full durability. Crane wondered for a moment what it could do when it reached advanced levels, but then another pair of Users walked up to Crane.

"Saw your fight there, you're not bad. We need an attacker between level 150 and 190, you qualify?"

Crane could tell that the pair's equipment was about level 160, as long as Crane wasn't more than 30 levels above them, the experience would be shared fairly. Crane said, "Yea, for now anyways." The man who asked seemed to be of the mercenary class, and the other seemed to be a magic user, though he could not tell what kind.

Crane looked at the mercenary and said, "Will fighting be involved?"

He answered, "Well that is what you advertised yourself for, isn't it?"

Crane smiled. The whole point of provoking the knight into starting a fight was to get people to look beyond him as a kid and see a capable fighter. Crane said, "OK, I'm in."

You have Joined Byrce's Party.

The pair took Crane over to another pair, a priest and warrior. With the exception of the warrior, all the members were male. The priest walked over to Crane and said, "You're the guy who fought against Dighilt right?"

Crane asked, "Dighilt?"

The priest said, "You know, the blacksmith in the store with those huge smokestacks."

"Oh, never got his name, he never gave it to me."

"The priest nodded, "Yea, according to what we learned from the locals, he's always been like that. Though you still got off easy compared to Jered and Josh."

Crane gave him the same, questioning look. The priest rolled his eyes and said, "The Blade Brothers, Jered and Josh. They asked to be Dighilt's apprentices as soon as they got here, back when the borders had just opened. But Dighilt didn't like them for some reason, he beat them so bad, they couldn't move till I came around and healed them up."

Crane asked, "Those two strong?"

This time the warrior woman answered, "The pair could've taken out that knight in ten seconds. Although members of the craft classes don't make good fighters, those two got around that be specializing in different stats along with strength, Jered agility, Josh luck. Jered uses two sharp knives to repeatedly attack and Josh is able to break any armor he hits with his blacksmith hammer, thanks to his high odds of dealing a critical hit and his own knowledge of the weak points in armor. So one whittles away defense and the other whittles away health. It is an interesting thing to watch."

Crane said, "Oh, how did the fight go?"

"Well, Josh's lucky strikes were useless against the smith's wooden shield. The smith knew where its weak points were, and never let it get hit. And Jered got caught by Dighilt's chain. Even the most experienced get caught by that thing."

Crane nodded, "So how should I beat him?"

"Hah! You don't understand what I'm saying kid. You are not going to beat him. The man is a specialist with a high level and higher proficiency, he can't be beaten by guys like us. Not for a few years anyways. The only chance you have is to wait until you are strong enough to overpower him."

Crane wasn't going to give up that easily, if he had to do the impossible then he would do the impossible. Crane noticed that Bryce and the magician weren't around them, so he asked, "Where'd Bryce go?"

The warrior said, "Looking for more power hitters. This is a boss hunting party afterall."

Crane said with interest, "Boss hunting?"

The priest looked at Crane, "Oh, he didn't tell you? There is a big dungeon raid going on tomorrow, some local guild got the quest to defeat it but the place is too strong for them. A raiding party is being hired to wipe out the dungeon, and we are the guys responsible for defeating the boss."

"How's the boss room itself going to be?"

The priest smiled, "Everyone is expected to die."

"That hard huh?"

The priest nodded, "This is the third raid attempt, everyone member was killed in the last two. The difference this time is our boss party, Bryce has been here for the past three days looking for anyone who he feels capable enough to handle himself in the battle."

"So everyone else wipes out the dungeon, and we kill the boss?"

"That's the idea, plus there's a bonus. Besides the pay we'll be getting, members of the boss party will be allowed free access to the dungeon."

Crane understood what he meant. This dungeon was likely under the control of the local guild, to enter it non guild members would have to pay a fee.  
Bryce and the magician came back with a knight, this one had gear about level 150, but his great axe had a 165 level requirement.

"This guy is Nonance, Nonance, these are the other party members."

The magician spoke up, "Do we have enough?"

Bryce replied, "We'd better, there isn't another person here above level 150. I also called in a favor at the mercenary's guild, six more will be waiting for us at the dungeon's entrance tomorrow."

Crane spoke up, "So what's the dungeon?"

Bryce took in a deep breath, "The Burnt Mansion, it is a two hours walk south east of the town. For those of you who don't know, the story goes like this. A hundred years ago there was a rich family in that house. It held several generations of their family and all their relatives. With each generation the family grew in size, and the house was expanded, it is like the size of a shopping mall now. Anyways, one day the whole place burnt down, but the family who lived their refused to leave. Now they hunt the place and possess the objects in the house, most notebly, the toys of the hundreds of children who were in the house. Now, the boss is the ghost of the guy who built the house, apparently he was there the whole time and his power increased with his family. The goal of the raid is to first get rid of his family to weaken the bosses power, then take out the boss ourselves."

Crane had read about the ghosts of Royal Road but had not fought any yet. But before he could say anything, the priest continued from there.

"For those of you who don't know, ghosts and spectres can only be hit under certain circumstances. Luckily I am a priest who specializes in buffs as opposed to healing, I can give each of your weapons a holy buff that will allow you to attack ghosts."

Crane was relieved that the team had this kind of specialist with them, but he had another point to ask about.

"Excuse me, but you said the boss's power increases with the amount of family members in his house?"

Bryce and the priest nodded, Crane continued, "Are you sure it is family members, or just ghosts?"

The priest asked, "What do you mean?"

Crane elaborated, "If the house is his domain, what if his power is determined by the number of dead people inside his house, not the number of family members?"

"What's the difference?"

"Dead people can be Users too. If the raiding party that wipes out the ghosts dies, then the boss will still have power. I'm only mentioning it because this is the third raid, and I am wondering why they were beaten the last two times. Maybe they had it wrong."

The priest spoke up after a moment, "Well, it isn't impossible. Hmm, if that guy draws power from our own dead, then what exactly are we supposed to do?"

Crane made a suggestion, "I can scare them away."

Everyone remained silent. This is usually the point where people laugh, but this group was assembled for competence, none of them were the types to underestimate a situation. Finally the magician broke the silence, "How?"

Crane smiled and sat down, "This is about half max, I was advised against using max in public."

Crane's Battle aura skill was almost intermediate and his fighting spirit was about 240. The skill channeled the effect of fighting spirit into other forms with many uses, though none were lethal, it was a very practical skill. Crane concentrated on his own fighting spirit, then imagined that something horrible would happen to every person in the area, like a herd of mountain trolls was about to come down and ripe the limbs of every person in the area apart. Crane had actually felt the exact feeling coming from a herd of mountain trolls before, so he was not making it up, just imitating it.

Every person gathered in the area tensed up. Some of the people removed their weapons, and started looking around. The feeling that someone was watching you, planning something sinister was not uncommon in the game, and every person there got the distinct feeling they should get out of there. No one person started running before the rest, but as a whole, the entire group suddenly decided to leave at a pace faster than walking. There were no screams, but the area had emptied in two minutes flat, save Crane's party.

The female warrior spoke up first, "Woah, what skill is that, I felt like I was being hunted by a pack of monsters."

Crane turned to the magician and priest and said, "You alright?"

They nodded, slowly. The strength of the effect was determined by the difference between Crane's fighting spirit and the affected. Most magic classes have little or no fighting spirit, so among the group those two would be the most affected. The mercenary however didn't even wince, the man was probably very close to Crane's level. He walked out to the empty area a few paces and stopped. "Would you like to join our party?"

Crane nat not seen anyone before Bryce had walked out there, but after asking, Crane noticed Bryce was standing in front of a hooded man. Crane didn't recognize the level of the equipment, but looking at the style caused only one word to enter his head. Assassin.

The assassin said, "Sssuure."

The mercenary class was a class above adventurer, and came with many practical skills, seeing the unseen was among them. The pair returned to the group and Bryce looked at Crane, "You really think you can scare the ghosts out of the house?"

Crane nodded, "Beings without form are more vulnerable to fighting spirit."

"Wait one moment." Bryce moved his hands around, likely bringing up some menus, then he started talking without noise. Crane could read lips, but he knew that Bryce was whispering with someone. A few minutes later Bryce spoke up. "The raid is scheduled to start in tomorrow at noon. We will head for the dungeon early to test the effectiveness of your skill, if it works, we will face the boss, if not, we will have to kill ghosts till the guild comes."

Bryce made sure everyone understood before taking them to the local guild's headquarters to borrow some horses. The party rode southeast with Bryce leading the way. After ten minutes of riding, the party reached the Burnt Mansion. Crane couldn't see it through the trees till he was closer but when they arrived he saw it was about four floors high and stretched further to the left and right then he could see.

The entrance to the house had about fifteen people there, all members of the local guild that claimed the dungeon. The took the horses off the party's hands and let the group in without charging.

The mansion was hot and gloomy, small rays of light pierced the wooden boards giving the area a soft light. "Ok kid, show us your stuff."

Crane nodded, his plan was to take care of the dungeon one floor at a time. Although his skill had a limit to about twenty meters for the strongest effect, the guild gave them a detailed map of the dungeon to use as a guide. Crane and the group wandered around for a minute before they found a group of floating toys. Two jack in the boxes, three string marionettes and three dolls, all of which had burnt marks over them. Crane activated his skill and imagined that if these spirits didn't leave right now, he would use the ice spells he learned not to long ago to chain them up and send them to hell. Since the thought was not an empty threat, more of a promise, the effect was noticeable. The toys fell to the ground and white spirits floated out of them and flew like the wind through the roof and far away. Crane was slightly disappointed he didn't get any experience, but he didn't actually fight anything, so it was understandable.

The priest spoke up, "I didn't feel anything that time."

Crane said, "Cause you're not dead, I made them understand if they did not leave, I would send them to hell."

Crane hear a small, 'hehe,' coming from beneath the assassin's hood. The other members did not think it was very funny. The party went to the stairs and gave Crane the map to the dungeon, for the next hour and a half Crane scared every ghost off the first floor. When he could not find anymore, he met up with the party at the stairs and they hit the second floor.

In this way the group made their way to the fourth floor. Crane took out every ghost there before hitting the boss's room. And before that the group returned to the lower floors to make sure the ghosts hadn't returned yet. A full day after entering, the entire mall sized mansion was empty of ghosts save one room. The priest buffed the party and gave everyone's attacks the holy attribute. The group hadn't fought anything in a day thanks to Crane, though none really thanked him for it. They were all itching to fight, Bryce kicked open the door to reveal a large round room with a ten portraits hanging on the walls, with a forty foot tall portrait hanging on the wall furthest in the back. It looked to be an old man in some military attire. Then, candles on the walls around the room started flaming up, the figure in the picture looked like it was decaying, until a skeleton in a uniform remained. Then an enormous ghost, twenty feet tall at least emerged from the painting with a red name above it, 'Eustace'.

"YOU!" He pointed his boney finger at Crane, "YOU CHASED AWAY MY FAMILY! ARHHHH!" He charged at the group but the mercenary appeared in front of him, slashing through him, "ARRGG!" The ghost rolled to the side but still received a clean hit. "Come My Family!" At Eustace's call, spectres appeared from the other portraits, each about level 160. Crane felt he had gotten too much attention already, so he decided to go for the spectres and let everyone else fight Eustace. He extended his aura with the thought, "Stupid spectres, probably as weak as the old geezer." After his battle aura hit beginner level 8, he could get more specific on the thoughts he transmitted. The spectres who had been attacking whoever was closest stopped what they were doing and converged on Crane. 'Ok, maybe not my best idea.'

Crane imagined cutting each spectre so many times, they would be reduced to mist, then used his Majestic stance, 50!. He still couldn't get above 50 without a rapier, but he started his twelve forms skill and begun slicing with his holy blade. To his surprise the assassin appeared behind the spectres and dealt each a critical hit before disappearing again. Crane kept up his aggravation of the spectres and the assassin kept attacking each from behind. But there were too many spectres, he had to keep his priority on defending to prolong his fight so the others could concentrate on Eustace. The only reason they had not overwhelmed him instantly was because the spell Isa worked on them and slowed them sufficiently for Crane to keep up with them all.

Upgrade: Battle Aura [Basic to Intermediate]  
Increases range of aura and power of effect

"Aarrgggg.." Crane heard the ghost scream one last time before everyone else came over to Crane and got the spectres off him. Crane killed two and the party got the rest. For being in the party that killed Eustace Crane got 15% toward his next level, but experience was never his incentive to come here. Crane counted up the party to see that everyone was still alive, though plenty beaten. Crane was a little disappointed he was unable to participate or even watch the fight, but no one in the group belittled his efforts in the battle. Bryce walked up to Crane and threw something to him. Crane caught it and saw it was a finely cut ruby. Bryce said, "That's your share of the boss's loot, you did real good. You ever consider becoming a mercenary?"

Crane shook his head, "I already got a class."

"I'm not an NPC offering a class change, you can be a mercenary by joining the guild."

He shook his head again, "No thanks, I am happy with the guild I'm in."

Bryce frowned, "Shame, you don't know what you're missing."

Crane could only smile, if he only knew.

Bryce spoke up again, "One other thing, I've spoken to the guild that hired us, for clearing out the monsters but not killing them, you're getting a quarter of what they were going to use to pay the raiding party with, it totals 1675 gold. You'll get it when we return, along with your contribution for being a member of the boss party, 800 gold." Crane didn't particularly care, but the warrior exclaimed, "That's not fair, why is he only getting a quarter? There's no difference between what he did except he didn't get the experience!"

Crane was slightly surprised at her outrage on his behalf, but Bryce held up his hand and said, "I know, they're cheap and willing to do whatever they can to pay less. Don't worry about it, he got what he came for."

The warrior looked over at Crane and asked, "What does he mean?"

Crane said, "Bryce knows I joined this party for the rights to fight in this dungeon without having to pay for it, though I don't remember telling him that."

Bryce raised his shoulders slightly and left for the exit, with the rest following behind.

The group quietly left the mansion and retrieved the horses from the men out front. After returning to the guild Crane got paid and received a pass that allowed non guild members to access the dungeon at any time.

Crane stood before the smith who was spinning his chain in a circle. Crane only needed to hit him once to become his apprentice, so the instant the man threw his chain, Crane would throw the knife hidden in the sleeve of his arm. Crane waited patiently, making sure to keep his body from getting tense. Without any signs the smith threw his chain at Crane and an instant later Crane threw his knife at the smith's chest. Crane could not believe what he was seeing, with his increased perception of time, he saw that the moment Crane had moved his arm to throw, the smith had started his movement as well. He put his fingers around the chain that was shooting at Crane and without stopping it, move his hand in a circle. The circle traveled through the chain, and knocked Crane's knife out of the air before continuing towards Crane. Crane rolled forward before the chain wrapped around him and threw another knife. This one stuck itself into The smith's shield. It seemed projectiles had no effect on the smith called Dighilt. Crane dashed forward to try to attack head on, but the chain came up from behind him and struck him in the shoulder before Dighilt started spinning it up and throwing it back at Crane. Crane decided to ignore the damage caused by the chain and plow forward. But when he got close, the smith's shield bash would send him back. The one time Crane avoided the shield bash by dodging to the side, what awaited him was a chain wrapped fist. The smith used the shield to attack, deflect and block his vision, no matter what Crane did, the smith had a counter measure.

For the next month, (in game) Crane fought the smith as often as he could, though only once a day max. On days he still had time after he was beaten he went to the Burnt mansion to practice overcoming whatever weakness he had that lead to his defeat that particular day.

One day, Crane showed up outside the smith's shop with his staff. If was the level 150 staff he got in the dungeon beneath the palace of Yarsan. Dighilt said nothing about magic not being allowed and kept spinning his chain. Crane called, "Thurisaz!" A bolt of lightning shot from Crane's staff at Dighilt, but nothing happened. The iron chain still wrapped around the smith attracted the lighting through it and protected him like a faraday cage. Crane raised his staff again and called, "Isa!" The staff emitted a black wave that rushed to the Smith. From Crane's perspective, he saw the wave split in half and diverge around the smith. Dighilt had somehow used his chain to cut a magic spell in half. Now Crane knew why the man didn't feel threatened, he probably had some chain skills that allowed him to perform such feats.

"Give it up kid, you can't do the impossible." Now Crane truly understood what the warrior meant when she said that Crane couldn't beat Dighilt, but suddenly, in the back of Crane's head rung an idea.

Crane shouted, "I accept that challenge." He then unequipped his staff and walked up to Dighilt and continued. "If I complete an impossible task, you'll let me be your unofficial apprentice." No matter what Crane did, this was an impossible task for him, so if it was all the same to the smith, he would change it to another.

Dighilt said, "Hmm, so instead of getting a hit off me, you'll do something else that is impossible. Interesting, very well. But here's the catch, I'll let you decided what your impossible task is, if I approve, you'll have to do it to become my, 'unofficial,' as you put it, apprentice. If I reject it, I never want to see you asking to be my apprentice again. Of course the same penalty applies to if you cannot accomplish the task.

Ding*

Do the impossible

You must assign yourself a task that Dighilt considers impossible. Acceptance or rejection depends on him. Completion of task will allow apprenticeship to Dighilt.  
Difficulty: Unknown

Reward- Apprenticeship to the blacksmtih Dighilt.

Crane thought about it for a solid minute, the crowd that had grown around him and had listened in was getting anxious. The Crane spoke up.

"In a single day I will make every person in the town have the face of a monster, without any kind of magic, potion or effect of any kind."

Dighilt looked hard at Crane. It was indeed an impossible task. There were magics that could achieve such effect and potions as well, but to do so without anything that had that effect was not something anyone would consider possible, and even if it was, to do so within a single day? There were over eleven hundred people inside the town. Plus if he didn't do it with the people's permission he would be declared a criminal. It was definitely impossible.

"Agreed, in the span of twenty four hours, give every person the face of a monster."

The smith returned to his shop and Crane left the crowd.

Four the next two months, (in game) Crane was nowhere to be seen. The people who knew of the quest thought he had given up. But one day Crane returned, and sat in the middle of town. He set up a large board and stand with many hooks on it. Then he took out several bags and hung items on each hook. At precisely noon that day, he flipped over a sign on front of him.

Free Monster masks  
1 Per person  
Some have added effects  
Available until noon tomorrow only

Crane had spent every available moment he could within royal road carving masks of various monsters. Some were funny, some cute, most scary, but as the sign said, all were free. People had already been gathering around him since he started unpacking, but when the sign went up they rushed him.

-Can I have that Dragon Mask?!  
-Ohh! Is that a Sabertooth Tiger?  
-That Goblin mask is sooo Cuuute!  
-What kind of mask is that? Does it come in blue?  
-Griffon mask! Gimme Gimme!

Crane had to exert himself just to get everyone what they wanted and put other masks back on the self for other people to see.

-Oh My God That Fox Mask is SOoooooo Cute!  
-Woah, that Wolf mask is awesome.  
-Is that and Orc? Can I see it please?  
-What's that scary one next to the wolf, is that a demon?  
-That thing is really scary.

Among the many monsters Crane had seen he also made masks of things he could only imagine. The scariest image he could think of was a terrifying Oni mask, and he carved that fear itself into his sculpture mastery and handicraft skills both reached intermediate levels, he found that when he carved an emotion into the mask, it had an effect like a statue, but the person who wore it could not see the mask, so they could not receive its effect. This prompted him to try to create masks that had bad effects and debuffs. What he came up with were the Oni masks. When someone saw it, their stats decreased, but the wearer themselves did not see it. Masks were statues that one could only see in one direction, but it was only effective if it was worn, after all, a mask without a face to wear it is incomplete.

Crane spoke up, "This Oni Mask is special, if someone sees you wearing it, they will receive a stat debuff, but you as the wearer will not get one. Also if two people are wearing an Oni mask, the effects of the mask will not work on each other, only on everything else that is not wearing one.

-Oh really?! Give me one of those.  
-Me too, that red one.  
-No I want the red one, I was here first anyways.

Crane had more than enough to go around, he only made a few hundred of the masks that were for decoration, but in anticipation for what was happening, he made over a thousand Oni Masks.

Soon Oni mask wearers were walking around the town. When someone saw them they would receive a debuff, then told if they didn't want to be affected they needed one for themselves. In this way word around the town spread and Crane's supplies were being taken like gold on the streets. After three hours of hecticness the crowd calmed down and got smaller. After six hours most of the town was wearing a mask, but not everyone. Crane arranged for the local guild to help with giving out the masks to all the NPCs in the town in exchange for the guild receiving all extras with the right to sell them to tourists. After ten hours Crane had only about a two hundred masks left, most Oni. He had probably given many people both a costume mask and an Oni mask. Crane still had not received the Quest Accomplished message which meant there were still more people in the town who didn't get a monster face from Crane. Then Crane remembered the one face he had not seen.

Crane packed up his stock but left a box on Oni masks with a note on it saying to take just one and went to the smith's shop.

He was wearing a fox mask when he entered and saw that the woman there wasn't wearing a mask, but had one on the counter next to her. Crane walked up to her and took off his mask. "Excuse me, is Dighilt in?"

The woman smiled and went to get the smith.

Dighilt came out not wearing a mask either, so Crane threw a dragon mask to him which he then caught.

Ding*

Quest Complete: Do the Impossible  
You have given every person in town the face of a monster within a single day.

The smith looked at the dragon mask for a bit before smiling. "You actually did it kid, you did the impossible. You can be my unofficial apprentice. You'll start tomorrow. Get a good rest kid."

Do Hyup logged out of Royal Road. He had spent the last two weeks performing the mind numbing task of carving over and over again. Although his Sculpting skill hit intermediate, it didn't go higher than Intermediate level one after a while. He tried to get as much variation in each as he could but there is only so much variation a monster mask face can make. At least he handicraft skill wasn't limited that way, it reached intermediate the first day and got to level 4 over the two in game months. The clock said it was 1 a.m. and he had class in eight hours. But that was the price of playing Royal Road on a school day. At least today was thursday, the last school day of the week, after he got off he would be able to spend all weekend learning blacksmithing.

-

"Ok kid, first let me see what you got, make a sword."

At Dighilt's request Crane got out his mana powered smelter, a sword mold, his blacksmith hammer, a pair of tongs, some whet stones, some chord, and iron ore.

Crane melted the iron into a liquid in the smelter, then poured it into the sword mold. After waiting for a minute, Crane opened the mold and took out the glowing sword with the tongs and placed it on the anvil. He then hammered an edge onto both sides until it was even, smooth, and sharp. He then put it in a tub of water for two seconds, and removed it. After it cooled down further, he sharpened it with the whetstones, and wrapped some leather cord around the hilt.

Basic Iron Sword:  
Durability: 60/60. Attack 11-13.  
Sword made by novice blacksmith with practiced hands  
Requirements: Level 30.  
Effects: Strength +5.

It was about as good as he could make it, Crane handed it to Dighilt who examined it closely. "Well, this is about as well as can be expected from an ametuer. Let me see that resuable sword mold and smelter."

Crane handed him both which he then placed on the anvil, and smashed them to pieces. Crane didn't flinch but he did think it was too much. Portable mana smelters were very expensive, if the smith didn't want him to use it, Crane could have just gone outside and sold it to someone.

Dighilt said, "I don't want you using a mold or smelter ever again. Come here." Crane followed him to his forge. It was made of stone but seemed to have several slots that drawers could be pulled out or put into. "This is the heart of heart of smithing." He was pointing to the side of the flaming stone oven. When Crane saw what was there he almost had a heart attack. It was two small lines connected at a right angle, the angle part of it was pointing to the left. On this blacksmith's forge was the rune Crane had been looking for. He mumbled aloud, "Kenaz."

Dighilt looked at Crane, "You know that symbol?"

Crane quickly shook his head, "No sir, but I've been looking for it, I need to know the meaning behind it." Dighilt smiled, "Well that is a coincidence, that is your first assignment as my apprentice."

"Umm, what do you mean?"

Dighilt answered, "This is the initiation test, I had to do it when I became an apprentice, and my master before me, all the way back to when this blacksmith shop was created, over a thousand years ago."

Crane had just received some insight into the town itself, it was possible that when the city fell, the blacksmith remained, and the town itself may have actually been built around the blacksmith shop. Those archeologists would have a field day if Crane told them, not that he would.

Crane said, "Ok, how do I learn what the symbol means?"

Dighilt answered, "This symbol represents the power behind the forge. There is a bench outside in the back. Sit there until you understand the meaning behind the symbol."

Crane left without a word and sat on the bench outside. At first he was worried he was being played, that is until he saw the bench. It was made of old stone, the same as the shop was built out of. When he sat down he could see the work of every person using the anvils and forge available behind the workshop. Now Crane understood why it was built. The area was made just for initiation test a thousand years ago. To pass likely required watching various people smithing so the man who built the shop and smoke stacks built an area where his apprentice could watch other blacksmiths and a bench for him to sit on.

Crane spent the next few hours sitting there just watching them. There weren't many people who were any better than himself, though there were plenty who were worse.

TINK!

Crane looked over to a teenager who had just quenched his sword in water. When it made that sound that meant it had cracked and was worthless. It was the tale tell sign of an ametuer blacksmith. Even if someone had all the equipment and knowledge, without the blacksmith skill most of whatever you made would snap on the quench, though still a quarter would break for level one beginners. Crane looked through various swords that were coming out, what was the difference between them? The answer was obvious, the experience of those who make higher quality stuff was higher, but that wasn't enough. If it was then each item Crane made would be better than the one before it, but he had been at a slump for quite some time. His method to get over the slump was acquire information from someone more experienced.

'Is that it? Acquiring knowledge from someone more experienced is the key to the power behind the forge? No, not all of it. If learning the skills was all it took then there would be no point in an initiation test.'

Crane took out and opened up Baofu's journal to reread the worn text. He could still only make out the words 'controlled fire.' Crane put the book back and concentrated on the forge in the back. Someone was using it, he had put a whole breast plate inside and was waiting for it to heat up. When he took it out it was glowing bright orange, even from where Crane sat it was hard to look at. The guy brought it to an anvil and began hammering. From what Crane could tell he was adjusting the overall shape to something else, he may also have added more metal to it to thicken or even repair or remake the armor entirely. The whole process wasn't too complicated but it could not be done without the forge. The forge was created to allow heat to uniformly built up throughout the metal, something no campfire could do, and it could produce heat no regular oven could make. Crane's appreciation for the forge increased the more he thought about it.

'At least now I understand the controlled fire part.'

A fire made for heat can't be truly controlled in the same way a forge can. With a forge and the right know how every variable can be controlled.

The guy finished hammering the armor and dipped it in the large barrel of water that was in the corner. When the steam stopped covering it Crane saw that the armor looked completely different.

'Transformation.'

A forge could turn ore into metal and one object into another.

'More than transformation, creation from lesser parts.'

The journal did have one section that was pretty clear, the acquiring of a rune without a rune book. Crane knew what he had to do, if he knew enough about Kenaz, he would be able to learn it as a spell, if not... this was gonna suck.

Crane walked up to the forge and concentrated.

'The power gained from knowledge passed down, the power of controlled fire, the power of change, of transformation from lesser to greater, of creation.'

Crane stuck his hands into the burning heart of the fire of the forge and gave a muffled cry through the pain, "Learn Kenaz!"

-You have learned the rune magic Kenaz

The feeling of searing flesh lasted only a moment, but the pain quickly receeded. Crane's hands glowed like that of hot metal, people were staring at him. Crane saw that his mana was very slowly draining away. The spell was probably activated, he removed his hands from the forge and they were still glowing hot.

"What the hell?'

Some people started talking around him. While his hands were still glowing, Crane opened up his inventory menu and took out one of the lesser quality swords he had made. The leather hilt burst into flame as soon as he grasped it, the metal beneath it started to glow. Crane held the sword with both hands, imagining that he was a forge. The sword heated up uniformly despite the fact his hands only touched two spots. Crane experimented a bit, he found he could control how hot he made the sword, anywhere from dull orange to bright yellow. Crane set down the sword and returned to the forge. He put his hands in the forge again. He let the feeling set in. He moved his hands through the fire and the burning coals, he could feel the energy of the heat like flowing water. Crane grabbed it, and pulled it out of the furnace.

"Ok, now he is just showing off."

The comments were getting a bit annoying, but he didn't want to stop just yet. Crane tried to give more heat to the fire ball in his hand, then more and more. But doing so drained his mana noticeably, he was now almost empty, so Crane tried to lower the heat. His mana didn't return, but it didn't decrease as much as it was before. The fireball was put out and Crane stopped the effect on his hands. The mana drain wasn't constant, it increased with the amount of heat Crane created and sustained. If Crane had unlimited mana he could make a fire ball hotter than the sun. Though it would lose heat rapidly if he did something like throw it. Crane was satisfied for now. Before he left ,the annoying commentator said, "Hey, how did you do that? You a fire mage or something?"

Crane said, "Secret skill, only the worthy can obtain it. You are not worthy, so even if you thrust your hands deep into the heart of the forge and speak the incantation, you will not get the skill fire control mastery." Fire control mastery was a real skill that had similar if not identical effects to Crane's rune magic, but its learning method was unknown. Crane wouldn't admit he willing used reverse psychology, but if the guy was stupid enough to do it, he would do it regardless of what Crane said. Crane came back inside the smith shop and asked for Dighilt.

"So, what is the power behind the forge?"

Crane took in a deep breath before answering. "Controlled fire, the wisdom passed down from others, the energy of transformation from lesser to greater, and the power of creation."

Dighilt remained silent for a moment. "Close enough, come with me, I'll teach you the proper way to make a sword."

Dighilt took Crane into the back and threw him a heavy cylinder of iron. "This my boy is crucible steel, it is the primary component you will be working with. But first you must learn to make it." Dighilt got some clay, what looked to be a small cement pot with a thick lid, some iron ore, sand, glass, and a small pile of charcoal. He picked up the pot and lid, "This is a crucible," he put the ore into it, then the sand, a tiny pinch of the charcoal, the glass, and capped it with the lid. He then sealed the gap with the clay, making sure the seal was air tight. "The silicon will seep into the iron when it is melted and combine with the impurities within, except for carbon. When the iron cools, the silicon will be forced out and all that will be left is the iron and carbon."

The furnace had a slot near the top that Dighilt pulled out, place a pile of coal on, and put the crucible in the middle of. He reinserted the slot and seal the gap with clay. He then opened a large slot in the bottom and Crane heard the wind blow into it. Dighilt stuffed the bottom with a large pile of coal and set it on fire. The constant wind stoked the fire quickly and within a few seconds an inferno was brewing within the forge.

Crane was amazed at its design, unlike the one in the back which was designed for practical uses of an open forge. This one had various functions which changed depending on what slots were open and which were sealed shut. The smokestack had fast blowing wind perpendicular to the opening in the top, this caused a vacuum effect that sucked air up the chimney from the vent in the base of the forge, providing a constant stream of fresh air for the fire without the need for a billow. The heat from the fire rose and collected in the top where the crucible was placed. A single crack would let the heat escape which was why the seal was coated in clay.

"Quality takes time. While that is cooking I'll show you the proper way to sharpen a blade."

Dighilt got out a dozen whetstones and showed Crane the proper way to sharpen a blade after its been forged. Dighilt put some oil on the stones that prevented sparks from flying out with each grind, and showed him how to tell when the right time to move to a smoother whetstone was. With just what he learned about sharpening Crane was able to make swords that had 3 more attacks points each on average.

When the ingot was done, Dighilt opened the top slide, the clay flaked off as easily as dried dirt. He removed the cement crucible from the slot and brought it to his anvil. It was glowing slightly, Dighilt smashed it apart with a hammer revealing a gloden golden ingot. He chipped off the stuck on pieces till only the iron remained, and brought it to a table with two other perpendicular tables whose distance adjusted from each other. He set them the width of a sword and began hammering. Against closed sides the bar could only lengthen. When it got to a certain length he folded it over itself and opened another slot in the forge to put it in. After a few minutes he took it out and started hammering again. He repeated this process a dozen times, hammering length, folding over, reheating. When he was satisfied he let it cool a bit and brought it back to his anvil and, using a smaller hammer, hammered an edge into each side of the blade, reheating to a dull orange glow when necessary. When the shape looked right he brought over to a bucket of what Crane believed to be oil of some kind. It bubbled violently when quenched and he removed it after about a second and a half. It was actually on fire when he removed it, he had to wipe off the flaming oil off with a leather rag of some kind. After waiting for it to cool the rest of the way, he began sharpening using the techniques he had shown Crane. And finally after that he polished it till it shined and gave it a leather cord handle. "Here kid, see the difference."

Crane took the sword, "Identify."

Warrior's Steel Sword  
Durability: 80/80. Attack 20-23.  
Sword made by skilled blacksmith.  
Requirements: Level 80.  
Effects: Strength +20.

From the same Iron Crane had used came a sword as good as any he had ever used. Dighilt said, "That is about the lowest quality of sword I will make."

Crane looked at him like he was being made fun of. Dighilt continued, "This sword is made out of pure steel, the hardness throughout is consistent. This is actually a bad way to make a sword. The best way is to have either pure iron or soft steel as the inner core of the blade while having an outer layer of hard steel that can be sharpened to a fine point. The more soft metal you use, the higher the durability, the more hard metal you use, the higher the attack, the key is finding a way to balance them."

Through the course of the next month, (in game), Dighilt showed Crane how to create every kind of iron ingot, from pure iron to high carbon and how to work with each. Because Crane wasn't going to become his official apprentice Dighilt only showed Crane the basics with combining irons to make stronger swords.

-

It was the last day of his apprenticeship and Crane was putting all the skills he learned into one object. Crane used his Kenaz spell to heat up two small crucible to the temperature they each needed. When enough time for the impurities to separate had passed Crane broke the crucibles to reveal the glowing ingots, the bigger one pure iron, the smaller one high carbon steel. Crane used a large metal shear to cut both in half, then he flatted the the carbon steel into two sheets and wrapped them around the iron cylinders. Now he had two glowing cylinders of steel wrapped iron. Crane then heated up the bars till they were a bright orange and stretched them into two pencil thick rods, though getting the width of each inch uniform took a lot of time. According to Dighilt, the carbon strengthened the metal during the process of cooling, how it was cooled had an enormous impact on how it was strengthened. Dighilt of course didn't tell Crane the methods of cooling he used, just its significance, so Crane had to experiment on his own. The solution he came up with was to leave it out as a factor. Using the effect of his new spell, as long as he was in contact with a piece of metal he could uniformly control its temperature, so he could control the cooling rate. For this piece he kept the temperature at what it needed to be throughout each stage, slowly cooling it when it was time to do so but never letting it get cooler than it had to be. Crane let the two bars cool till they were solid enough to hold their own weight without deforming and brought them to a strong clamp at the end of a table. He clamped the ends next to each other then began to tightly twist the bars together, maintaining their heat at the point just above malleability. When they were tightly coiled he brought it to the anvil and used a small hammer to pound the rods into a single rod. He could have heated it up more using Kenaz and simply squished them together with his hands but doing so often left the metal at a lower quality than hammer shaping did. When complete the rod was just a bit thicker than a finger at the base, a pencil throughout the middle, going to a point at the end. Crane then hammered the rod's sides, giving it thin sharp edges. When he was satisfied with the shape he quenched it in oil for one second, then removed the remaining heat slowly and began sharpening the thin blade with whetstones. After polishing it and giving it a cup guard, it was complete.

"Identify."

Twisted Rapier  
Durability: 80/80. Attack 29-31.  
Composite steel rapier made using a technique that maximized flexibility and sharpness.  
Requirements: Level 160, Agility 200.  
Effects: Agility +15.

Crane still didn't know how to choose what stats he gave to a weapon, if he did he would maximize finesse like his last sword, but this was still the best rapier he had made. If he made it like a sword he would have used more high carbon steel to give it a sharper edge but that would leave it without flexibility which was the heart of a thin rapier.

Crane presented his work to Dighilt for inspection. The smith looked at it and said, "You're really set on using a rapier aren't you? You could make a much stronger sword, but you still intend on using this thing?"

"Yessir, several of my techniques require it, it is worth the loss."

The great smith sighed, "Very well, here take this." Dighilt turned around and searched through a pile of junk that was on his desk. From the bottom he pulled out a dagger and gave it to Crane. "If you're so dead set on it you should at least use it properly. Rapiers aren't meant to be used alone, proper fighting with a rapier requires you to have a dagger in your off hand. That's the main reason I beat you so badly day after day, you could never cover that weakness no matter how much you trained."

Crane was feeling quite irritated at such a simple fact, but he let it go. "Thankyou sir for this."

Dighilt nodded, "Yea yea, now get out of here."

Crane left the workshop part but before leaving the store he was stopped by the woman at the counter. "He gave you that dagger right?"

Crane turned around and said, "Yes mam."

She giggled slightly, "My husband is so awkward with these kinds of things like gifts and goodbyes. He worked on that piece for many hours to give to you, I hope you don't forget us."

Crane thanked the woman and left the shop. Crane looked back at the dagger. The piece was different from any other he had ever seen, the blade of the dagger was a sharp triangle of high carbon steel over an exposed core of low carbon steel. The exposed core had engravings in it, celtic symbols and intrinsically weaved designs.

"Identify."

Engraved Dagger  
Durability: 120/120. Attack 37-39.  
Composite steel dagger made by a skilled blacksmith.  
Requirements: Level 170, Strength 220.  
Effects:  
Increases your chances of scoring a critical hit.  
No penalty for using in off hand.

Crane stared at the dagger for a long time before saying, "I still need a lot to work on."

Crane walked out of the village trying not to be noticed, it was made a law that people were not allowed to wear the oni masks inside the town, and if Crane was caught he would probably get into trouble. As Crane left the town he received a message.

- You have been assigned a mission for the guild. 


	14. Vol2 Chapter4 The Legacy of Muspelheim

The Legacy of Muspelheim  
Volume 2 Chapter 4

68 pages, 163350 characters, 29784 words

In a dark room of an unknown building, a group of seven noblemen met to discuss the information given to them by one of their own.

-How can this be correct?  
-The source has never been wrong before.  
-But there is always a first time  
-Not with them I think.  
-But he has been missing for twenty years!  
-Yes, and of all places, Purgatory.  
-That's right, so what if he is alive, if he is in Purgatory, he is dead to all rights.  
-No one leaves purgatory through any means other than death, that is why they call it Purgatory.  
-But this is no ordinary opportunity, until now we have had no legal means to remove that despotic uncle of his from the throne. If it were possible for the crown prince to be returned, should we not try?  
-I'm still not sure if I buy this, even if all of this is true and our king sent his nephew to purgatory when the boy was only four years old, even if we find some means to get someone out of there, would it make any difference? Could a four year old boy survive there until adulthood?  
-You men forget that this is no ordinary council. We are all here because of our loyalty to the prince's father. To abandon his son, the rightful heir to the throne is something we will not do!

The room went quiet for a moment. Each person looked at one another to try to gauge everyone's reactions, to see what they felt would be the most appropriate. One spoke up.

-I will devote every resource I have to returning our prince. Who is with me?!  
-I am.  
-I as well.  
-Count me in.  
-Very well, but how will we do this?

The last member who had remained silent through all this smiled and said, "Well that is the easy part. We get the prince back through the same means I acquired information of his whereabouts."

The nobleman turned to an empty corner of the dark room and said, "We have a request."

From the shadow of nothing emerged a cloaked figure. In a low voice he said, "We of the Dark Djinns grant wishes to any willing to pay our price."

-

-You have been assigned a mission for the guild

As Crane was leaving the town a pop up screen with a message appeared.

"Show guild Menu."

Guild: Dark Djinns

Status-Member

Reputation points-860

Alignment-Neutral

Rank- 87th

Mission Statement

Below the menu was a new icon that was flashing, Crane tapped it and two more screens showed up..

Retrieve the Prince from Purgatory  
The Prince of Donriel Kingdom was stolen years ago and was placed inside Purgatory, within Palmer Kingdom secretly under the command of his uncle. When the noblemen found out they hired the Dark Djinns to retrieve their ruler to overthrow his despotic uncle.  
Difficulty: B  
Reward: 25,000 Gold, 1300 Rep Points

Accept|Reject

As the one who provided the information of the Prince's whereabouts you have been given the first chance to accept the quest, should you refuse, another member will be contacted and offered the mission. Should you accept, you may take the quest on your own, or ask for help. Should you ask for help, additional members will be contacted to assist, the reward will be split dependent on contribution to the quest. Members will be chosen by the guild who best suit the mission and match your own traits.

Crane knew this quest would come soon but he wasn't sure if it would be given to him. He didn't know what system the guild used to allocate such things, but as he was the source of the information in the first place it seemed the guild figured he had the best chances of succeeding.

Crane clicked the 'Accept' icon.

Request Assistance?  
Yes|No

The only question now was whether or not to accept help on an impossible mission from the guild or not. However this was a rank B quest, something he had never done before. In fact he was not aware of anyone who had done a B rank quest before. It was more than likely that this was something he could not do on his own, that and he was curious as to what kind of member the guild would choose that 'match his traits'.

Crane tapped the 'Yes' icon.

Suddenly Crane's stats and skill windows opened up.

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 187

Class- Rune Master

Title- None

Fame- 912 Infamy 1240

Health- 7521

Mana- 10320

Strength- 367+20

Agility- 409+20

Wisdom- 167+20

Intellect- 201+20

Vitality- 156+20

Luck- 51+20

Leadership 35+20

Finesse- XX+20

Fighting Spirit- 230+20

Perseverance 360+20

Endurance- 286+20

Attack- 525

Defense- 120

Magic Resistances

Fire-43%

Water-37%

Earth-35%

Black Magic-41%

Ice-39%

Wind-35%

Lightning-30%

Light-55%

+ All stats are added 20  
+ While using a sword you receive +25% bonus to Attack  
+25% Maximum Mana  
+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.  
+ Can learn skills that use the stat finesse  
+ Can learn and use rune magic.  
+ Can harness true power of runes to increase variety of effects when used.  
+ As a Rune Master, you understand that all magic originates from runes, Enables you to learn modern magic spells based on your level in Rune Mastery.

Skills Window

Identification [8] 94%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.  
Mana Cost: 30

Sword Mastery Intermediate [4] 87%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords.  
+210% ATK +50% ATK SPD while using a sword.

Twelve Forms Intermediate [4] 68%: Increases attack power and speed of attack while fighting using the twelve forms.  
+160% STR +160% AGI  
Mana Cost: 50 per second

Flurry [5] 80%: Rapid series of thrusts  
7 thrusts per second  
Mana Cost: 60 per second

Dash Intermediate [2] 22%: Move a great distance in a single step  
Mana Cost: 20

Power Lunge [6] 49%: A strengthen piercing attack that covers some distance  
Mana Cost: 90

Soa's Routine Intermediate [1] 39%  
Different Routines of the same set can be stacked.

Majestic Stance- Increases attack strength and speed of techniques performed after stance used  
-Attack Str and Spd +100% for 8 techniques after use  
Mana Cost: 200

Regal Guard- Increase defense and chance of successful parry after use  
-Defense +50 Luck +100  
Mana Cost: 100

Noble Step- Increase movement speed to dodge oncoming attack after use  
-Movement speed +200% for 6 steps after use  
Mana Cost: 100

All effects are multiplied by Finesse stat/90

Alchemy [8] 44% Enables you to create quality potions from ingredients

Repair Intermediate [2] 4% Enables you to repair weapons and armors.

Throw Intermediate [4] 89% You can throw objects and weapons further and more accurately

Shout Intermediate [5] 31% Increases strength for an instant while shouting.  
STR +35% for an instant  
Mana Cost: 40

Battle Aura Intermediate [1] 12%  
Converts fighting spirit into directed aura based off the user's thought. Power determined by strength of thought, area value determined by Fighting spirit, area position determined by thought itself  
Mana Cost: 5 per second

Medical Botany [4] 12%

Rune Sword [5] 61%  
Can write Runes with the tip of sword.  
Strength of Rune effect multiplied by Finesse Stat/95  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
Mana Costs: 5 per second

Rune Call [4] 61%  
Can use Rune magic by calling out Rune names or sounds  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
285% Mana Cost to use Rune Effect

Rune Smith [4] 31%  
Can carve Runes into weapons and armor that grant additional options without decreasing max durability  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
For every rune carved, Maximum mana decreases by 50  
Mana returns upon item's destruction  
Effect Strength determined by Sculpture mastery

Rune Write [1] 32%  
Can write Runes on talismans  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
For every Rune written, Maximum mana decrease by 25  
Mana returns upon talisman's use  
Effect strength determined by Handicraft skill

Sculpture Mastery Intermediate [1] 89%  
Enables you to produce complicated works.

Handicraft skill Intermediate [4] 22%  
Dexterity Rating. Enhances your craft skills in every field  
Increases attack power with melee and long range weapons. (+50% ATK)  
Increases attack power with fists. (+80% ATK)

Rune Mastery [4] 87%  
Enhances effects of Rune magic and determines spells that can be learned  
+8% increase in Rune effect. Can Learn 1-Circle magic

Rune Magic [5] 23%  
Can use learned runes to perform rune based spells and skills  
Original Power Determined by wisdom

Thurisaz, th, 3  
Mana cost: 95

Kenaz, k, 6  
Mana cost: 95 to activate, 6 per degree increased over room temperature per unit volume, 1 per degree maintained over room temperature per minute per unit volume

Isa, i, 11  
Mana cost: 143

Forgery [1] 0%  
Enables you to make fake items that can pass inspection through Identification

Cooking [4] 67%

Spirit Bind [1] 0%  
Enables user to bind spirits. Bound spirits can be dragged to Niflheimr. If the bound spirit agrees, this spell can be used to make a binding contract between two spirits, living or dead.  
Mana cost 450

Blacksmith [7] 97%  
Enables you to craft equipment from metal.

Fist Mastery [4] 20%  
Increase Attack power unarmed (+40% ATK)  
Increase Attack speed unarmed (+12% ATK SPD)

After that they disappeared.

Stats and skills recorded  
Members who best match will be dispatched to Ouranil, the capital of Palmer. Meet them at the Guild base.

Crane wondered for a moment the likelihood he was given the quest just so the guild could get an up to date read on him, but let the thought go and left the town to find Keagan. He looked larger than usual so Crane opened up the fire cat's stat and skill menu.

Name-Keagan.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 199

Race- Fire Cat

Health- 12592

Mana- 5830

Strength- 460

Agility- 429

Wisdom- 196

Intellect- 241

Vitality- 267

Luck- 198

Fighting Spirit- 211

Resilience- 127

Endurance- 98

Attack- 746

Defense- 89

Magic Resistances

Fire-80%

Water-41%

Skills Window

Oil production Intermediate [2] 77%  
Enables the fire cat to produce a large amount of oil to cover its fur. The oil burns well

Oil control [9] 92%  
Enables specific use of oil production, allowing one to increase or decrease the amount of oil produced over specific parts of the body or the entire body.  
Mana cost: 50 per second

Flame Charge [6] 23%  
Increases strength and agility during a charge while completely engulfed in flames.  
+60% STR +60% AGI  
Mana cost: 90 per second

Flame Swat [8] 61%  
Increases attack and attack speed while swatting with paws while paws completely engulfed in flames.  
+240 ATK +80 ATK SPD  
Mana cost: 250

Flame Bite [5] 23%  
Increases attack when biting while head is engulfed in flames.  
+250 ATK  
Mana cost: 180

Over the past few months Crane was in the town, Keagan had been training and getting stronger, just as Crane had taught him to. He was twelve feet long from tooth to tail thus had grown large enough to comfortably accommodate four people on his back. Crane jumped on and said, "Our destination is one hundred thirty miles north."

Keagan dug his back paws into the grass before launching into the forest. The speed of his running was much faster than before, if he didn't stop the pair would make it to the capital city by sunrise the next day, but Crane expected it to take a little longer. Since they had a destination, Keagan would weave around to avoid monsters that would slow them down.

-

Noon, after a few hours of rest earlier in the morning, Keagan sprinted the rest of the way to Ouranil, by far the best time he ever made for such a distance on the fire cat. Crane got off Keagan's back and walked to the entrance. The capital city was at least a few miles across, filled with towering white spires, buildings and even a castle or two. The whole place was clean and tidy, bright and shiny, and generally overwhelming. Although Crane wanted to tour every inch of the city, he had his priorities. Crane asked around for awhile and found the Inn that was the cover for the Dark Djinn's guild base.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The Inn keeper was polite but to the point.

Crane answered, "I'm here to meet up with a group sent from the guild, my name is Crane."

The hostess moved her hands around opening an unseen menu and after a moment said, "You were not expected to arrive until tomorrow, and your group the next day. I can have a room set up for you for the next three days if you like."

"Thank you mam, please do."

Crane received a key and went to unload his stuff. The last time Crane was in a guild base he received new equipment, a fact that served to remind Crane just how under level his equipment really was now. Crane left the base for the shops, he had three days to explore the city and maybe find some new armor before his quest mates showed up.

After wondering around for half an hour Crane found a shopping district with many distinctive stores. He browsed the weapons, armors, clothing, and accessory shops for various good he could use, but not much was useful. Back when he was a Kallamore Warrior he could equip a fair variety of armor, but as a spell sword he was more limited. The strongest he could wear was leather armor, for now. When his blacksmith skill reached intermediate he would be able to wear armors outside his own class restrictions. When it reached advanced he could wear armors or use weapons with different class restriction and when he reached advanced level 10 he could equip anything. But for now the only thing in this shop that looked useful was a thick leather vest. The item's stats and price were shown just below it.

Rock Lizard Hide Vest  
Durability: 55/55.  
Defense: 25.  
The thick and flexible hide of the rock lizard treated and trimmed into a vest.  
Requires:  
Level 170.  
310 Strength.  
Effects:  
Damage from arrows reduced by 20%  
Damage from blunt weapons reduced by 10%  
Price 200 Gold

The price was a little high but it could be worn under Crane's overcoat and he was in need of higher defense now, at least until he worked his blacksmithing skills to intermediate.

"Sir, I'll take this vest."

The shop owner removed the piece from the glass case and Crane handed over the coin.

After equipping it Crane looked through the supply of the different tailor's shops. Most of it was for magicians, an overcoat with good defense for high levels wasn't easy to find. Crane did however find a shop that did custom work with custom materials.

The old seamstress at the counter said, "You want an overcoat? You're going to have to be more specific. What do you want it to do? I can make clothes that give stats, increase skills, impart magic resistances, or even weather immunities."

A small pain went through Crane that came from thought of how much this was going to cost him. He couldn't just ask for it all so he had to think about it. His own training provided him with extra stats so paying for that was pointless and his own magic resistances would be enough for now. After a moment of thinking he said, "Something with a high defense that doesn't cut speed or get in the way during a fight. Something that resists the effects of high heat"

The seamstress said, "To what degree?"

"A summer in Purgatory."

She almost flinched at the name. "Purgatory you say... Aye, I have something that fits the bill. The skin of a Inferno Serpent, it is light, strong, and completely heat proof given you can take the heat it gives off itself. I can make you a custom overcoat of it, but it will take two days, the cost, 2300 gold."

As he suspected, it would cost him nearly all the gold he had saved up, but he wasn't going to pay up without a fight. "I'm sorry but it is just a little over my price range, 1800 is really all I have right now. If you know of another place that makes custom clothes, I'd be most grateful." After a moment of silence between them, Crane turned and walked for the door.

"Wait!" Crane turned around and with an innocent smile said, "yes?"

"1800 is fine."

Crane said, "Thank you so much mam, I promise to spread word of your shop to my guild, the Dark Djinns."

At this her eyes lit up. In the public's eyes, the Dark Djinns was a famous guild known for their high level members, and as a seamstress she would be able to tell that Crane was in fact wearing clothes made for Dark Djinn members. Crane had just cheated her out of 500 gold, so he needed to give her incentive to do the best work she was capable of.

The old woman got out a tape measurer and said, "Lift up your arms."

The woman measures every inch of Crane while asking questions like, "Would you like anything special in the coat? Free of charge of course." Crane had basically said he would advertise her shop to his guild so she added things to her initial sketch of it like hidden pockets he requested for throwing knives in the sleeves and small pockets inside the lining for glass vials and a few other things he asked for. All in all it would have costed Crane more than he actually had but he got it all for 1800 gold.

After her sketch was finished she asked for half the gold now and the other half on delivery.

Crane passed the old woman 900 gold, thanked her graciously, and left the store.

Crane spent the rest of that day wandering through the city and the following day in the city's library. Most of the books inside were ones he had already read at Yarsan, the reason he came was for history books, specifically for Purgatory. What he found wasn't pleasant.

Purgatory, the place between life and death. So named because it is a one way road to the afterlife inhabited by those who are not dead but will never return to their lives, the inescapable prison deep within the lands now known as the Scorched Plains.

The history of the prison dates back to the fall of the Muspelheim empire. It was once so great it threatened its neighbor, the Niflheim empire, that was until a great catastrophe occurred. The five volcanoes within the Muspelheim empire erupted at once, spreading ash and fire throughout the kingdoms within. Attracted by these conditions, many fire monsters invaded the lands and destroyed every settlement in their paths. Fortresses with teleport gates were built to stop the advance of the hordes of monsters. One was built inside the recently erupted volcano, Delco. The fortress, then named Obern, was the largest of them and served as a long term training base for fighting against the fire monsters. To make the interior of a volcano habitable, trenches were dug that allowed the lava within to flow outside the volcano. The lava formed into various pools that surrounded the outside of the volcano, something that provided additional defense for the exterior. This however is what drew the fire giants. They came to bask in the lava that surrounded the volcano, something that was usually only found within the deepest dungeons. The fortress was still impenetrable, but the giants killed every person who left the interior of the volcano. The fortress was abandoned through the teleport gate and the gate itself was disabled. Years after the Muspelheim empire was dissolved into several kingdoms, Palmer among them. Politicians of Palmer had the teleport gate to the fortress reactivated, but only the gate to it, not from it. After that the entire population of Palmer Kingdom's criminals was brought to and sent through the gate to the fortress. None of them have been seen since. The fortress prison was from that day called, Purgatory.

Crane had found documents in the restricted section of the library in Yarsan that a certain heir to a certain kingdom to the southeast was brought to Palmer Kingdom with orders to 'Throw him somewhere no one will ever find him.' Since the guys who did it chose Palmer that meant the guy could only be in one place. Crane had informed the Dark Djinns of this some time ago but it seemed it took awhile for them to find someone who would pay for the information and pay to use it.

Crane did his best to look up all relevant information the library had to offer about the remnants of the Muspelheim Empire and the details about the Scorched plains. There were no users he heard of who had reached the level they could repair a teleport gate or teleport themselves that great a distance, so Crane would have to escort the guy across the Scorched plains, something no one had ever successfully done. Unfortunately there were almost no records of the Scorched Plains. The entire area had actually been declared forbidden and since no one who entered returned alive the only documents available were unreliable ancient reports describing a dark race of beings who now reside there.

The next day Crane returned to the seamstress shop. "Welcome back, your overcoat is complete." Crane set a bag of 900 gold on the table, but didn't release it until the old woman put an overcoat made of dark red scales on the table. Crane released the bag and with the same hand placed it on the overcoat. "Identify."

Red Scale Overcoat  
Durability 120/120  
Defense 40  
Made with the hide of an inferno serpent by an excellent tailor, this coat retained the qualities of the hide without sacrificing durability.  
Options:  
Extreme heat resistance  
+40% Fire resistance  
Hidden 8 quickslot pockets  
Requirements:  
Level 185  
280 Strength  
40% Fire Resistance

This was the first equipment that required magic resistance and gave it as well. This meant that the wearer would have a minimum of 80% fire resistance. It seemed the tailor had some skill that allowed her to find out Crane's stats as she measured him and she was able to make a piece that reached to the very edge of that limit. Crane would make sure to keep his word and spread word of this shop the best he could in his guild. After deeply thanking the woman Crane left the shop to use what was left of his fortune to buy some heat resistant boots and gloves, and get someone to dye his hat.

His entire wardrobe was now dark red to match his overcoat. He thought maybe he should lose the feather hat but he had grown fond of it. He still had a fair bit left so he spend every coin of it on herbs and food ingredients for the trek across the Scorched plains.

Crane returned to the Dark Djinn's Inn. "Hello again."

The innkeeper said, "Your party arrived a little while ago, they said they would meet you at the dining hall at noon."

Crane nodded, noon was in two more hours so he went to his room to get his smithing materials then went outside and found a bench. Crane put a small anvil on the ground, then took out a small Crucible and filled it with iron ore, sand, glass, and a tiny pinch of charcoal. He capped and seal the lid of it with clay, set it down, and took out another small crucible and filled it with the same, only he used a slightly bigger pinch of charcoal. He took out the Engraved Knife that Dighilt made for him and set it where he could see it clearly and picked up both crucibles. "Kenaz." Crane's hand's started glowing orange then bright yellow, it hurt to look at them as they heated up the cement urns.

Crane used Rune Call for Kenaz even though Rune sword cost about 3X less mana, but if he used it with his rapier he would have to immediately drop it to prevent melting the hilt so he wouldn't be able to put it back into his inventory. He could find a way around this if he really tried but this was a good way to train his rune call skill up in proficiency.

The two urns got to the melting point of iron after a while and Crane took out his blacksmith hammer and smashed the crucibles. He chipped off the debris and began his work. He set the low carbon steel on the small anvil and grasped the high carbon steel with both hands, stretching the thin metal to about ten inches long. He put it on the anvil, then took his hammer and shaped the low carbon steel into a small triangle with a hilt. He then bent the the high carbon steel rod and placed it on the edges of the triangle, and hammered the metals into one another. Crane kept one hand in place to prevent the metal from cooling down till Crane was finished with the general form. One big difference between hammering on crucible steel as opposed to regular iron is that when you hammer regular iron the impurities come off as sparks and flaky metal layers, but when working with crucible steel you don't get those sparks or flaky layers when hammering. After finishing the general shape Crane let the metal cool for a while. Now that he had been trained he could see the carbon rise to the top and coalesce into veins that permeated the knife, making it rigid. When Crane saw the veins reach the length he wanted he quenched the blade in water, causing a minor explosion within the barrel from both the blade and Crane's hand which was holding the hilt. He removed it after five seconds and sat back down on the bench. Crane then did something fairly tricky, he concentrated the heat from Kenaz back into the cooling blade but only into the high carbon steel, reheating it for a minute until it glowed a dull orange, then he let it cool down on its own. Tempering, the act of reheating after forging made the steel stronger at the cost of flexibility, which is why Crane only tempered the high carbon steel while trying to leave the softer low carbon center unaffected. With a hard steel exterior and a soft steel interior it would have the hardness to be sharpened to the extreme with the softness to take impacts allowing it a high durability. When it was cooled Crane took out his whetstones and started sharpening the small knife the best he could. Crane then polished off the raised carbon veins to till they were no longer visible.

Skill Level Up: Blacksmith [8]  
Increases attack power +3% (+24% ATK)

Crane looked at his finished knife and said, "Identify."

Fine Steel Knife  
Durability: 70/70. Attack 26-29.  
Composite steel knife made by a practiced blacksmith.  
Requirements: Level 140, Strength 180.  
Effects:  
Increases your chances of scoring a critical hit.

Crane was happy about the increase in proficiency but not with the knife. With the exception of Dighilt's engravings, the knife Crane made and the knife that was made by Dighilt looked the same, but Dighilt's parting gift was much stronger and had options that Crane's didn't.

"At least it won't be a total loss." Crane took out his Sculpting knife and began to carve into the soft iron center of the blade a straight bold line. After getting the depth and width right Crane imagined the blade as a link between the world of ice, Niflheimr and this world through his knife and said, "Isa."

The durability of the knife has dropped  
Maximum mana decreases by 50  
Fine Steel Knife added to Used Rune list  
Additional effects added to Fine Steel Knife.

"Identify."

Fine Steel Knife of Niflheimr  
Durability: 55/55. Attack 25-28.  
Composite steel knife made by a practiced blacksmith. This knife has been engraved with a Rune granting it additional properties  
Requirements: Level 140, Strength 180.  
Effects:  
Increases your chances of scoring a critical hit.  
Grants additional 2-5 Ice Elemental damage.  
Rare chance of dealing a deadly attack.

Crane had successfully imbued the knife with the effects of the rune Isa. Crane was actually surprised he got two effects out of it, but the effect strength of the Rune Smith skill was determined by sculpture master which he had gotten to intermediate and the effect may have increased from his handicraft skill as well.

The rune in the knife was now glowing slightly, Crane slipped it into his sleeve but when he looked up he realized he had a fair sized audience. It seemed that someone smithing with their hands instead of a mana smelter or furnace was not a common sight. Crane opened up his menu and saw it was about time. Crane walked wordlessly through the crowd and into the Inn, then into the restaurant within the Inn. Two people who had watched him followed him inside, a large man wearing chainmail and a thin female elf. The man said, "That was pretty interesting, lunch is on me kid."

At that Crane realized that because he had spent all his money on herbs and food ingredients he did not have any left over to pay for a meal at the restaurant. The cooking skill Crane leveled up working at a restaurant wasn't bad but Crane could tell from the smell that the chefs here were quite a bit above his own level. That being said, "Sorry, I don't accept gifts from strangers."

The elf giggled a bit before saying, "Well, I'm Aurora, this is Titan, and you're Crane. There, we're not strangers anymore are we?"

Crane bent his head down and smiled before saying, "I see, will anyone else be joining us for lunch?"

Titan said, "Nope, just us three."

'So the quest to recover a man from an inescapable prison would be done just by us three huh?'

The three of them ordered some food off the menu and sat down at the table furthest from the door.

Aurora said, "Is this your first quest from the guild?"

Crane nodded so she continued, "After the members are chosen from the guild, a short profile of the other members are sent to each one. Check your messages."

Crane brought up his message screen and opened up the new message there.

Name-Aurora

Class- Ranger

Gender-Female

Race-Elf

Guild Rank 38th

Alignment-Neutral

Special Traits  
Long distance attack  
Survival Specialist  
Elemental spirit use

Name-Titan

Class- Crystal Knight

Gender-Male

Race-Human

Guild Rank 48th

Alignment-Neutral

Special Traits  
Middle range attacks  
High Defense  
Crystal Form Creation

Crane looked at both charts then said, "Crystal form creation?"

Titan said, "You heard of mananite?"

Crane answered, "Yea, its a crystal that grows when exposed to mana, it is illegal to have in some areas because it grows out of control. I heard that long ago an entire city got encased in the stuff because the area was rich with natural mana."

The knight nodded, "That's right. It is considered a nuisance because it is uncontrollable... By most." The man pulled out a small grey crystal Crane recognized as mananite. He then put a finger on it and it started to glow, then grow. Four points sprouted out, three of which stopped growing after a bit. The fourth grew till it was about five and a half inches, then all the surfaces filled out a bit until Crane recognized a form. The knight removed his finger and a grey crystal dagger with the same shape as the one Crane had made was on the table. Crane tried not to look impressed but he was pretty sure he failed, it took Crane two hours to make a dagger and this guy had made one in about two seconds. Crane asked, "Can I see it?" Titan replied, "Can I see the one you made?"

Crane swiftly extended his arm out causing the knife in his sleeve to slip out into his hand, and put it on the table before reaching for the crystal knife. Crane said "Identify," almost at the same time he heard Titan say it while holding Crane's knife.

Mananite Crystal Knife  
Durability: 5/5. Attack 35-38.  
Crystal formed knife made with edges as sharp as obsidian.  
Requirements: Level 160, Strength 200.  
Effects:  
Increases your chances of scoring a critical hit.  
Durability decreases on hard impacts  
Durability cannot be repaired.

The knife was sharper than Crane's but had zero flexibility. A single crack would drop the attack to barely nothing. That being said if they could be mass produced it would be a formidable throwing knife. Crane said, "What's your weapon of choice?"

Titan gave Crane's knife to Aurora who seemed to want to look at it as well and said, "I can use most weapons but I prefer a large crystal club. With something so simple even if it cracks to pieces in my hands I can use those pieces to grow another one or any other weapon I choose. An elongating Crystal spear for instance."

"Can you make anything?"

On this he thought for a moment. "No. I can make any form but there are forms which are useless to make with Crystal, a Crystal Bow for example."

Crane only had one last question. "What did my chart say?"

"Hmm, said you were a Rune master, you used ancient magic, had several craft skills, and was good in mid to close range combat."

Crane supposed that was accurate, it seemed that his stat and skill windows were recorded to make that chart which was likely the basis of the matching system.

Aurora said, "This knife is quite good. You started blacksmithing recently, no?"

Crane answered, "I found myself a good teacher who taught me the basics and introduced me to the secrets of understanding true blacksmithing, though I must find the actual secrets myself. But the reason this blade is decent is because of the rune on it. Carving that alone gave it those effects."

Aurora asked, "This is ancient magic?"

Crane nodded and Aurora returned the knife to Crane who put it back in his sleeve just as a waiter came with their orders. Crane ordered the stew, whenever he got food at a restaurant it was always to compare his own recipe to. This one was spicy, but well balanced with the potato chunks and sweet meat.

Titan spoke up, "So, you got a plan for this quest?"

Crane nodded. "First we gotta get there. Which would you two prefer, the fast way, or the slow way?"

"Fast," both said aloud.

"Ok, then we need to use the teleport gate."

Titan spoke up, "As if we could. Even if we broke in there, the gate requires a group of mages to activate. The only respond to official orders to do so. Unless your plan is for all of us to become criminals and get sent there."

Crane looked at Aurora who didn't reveal any discontent about the idea, but Crane said, "If all the mages need is orders then I already have that covered." Crane whipped out a sheet of paper with several lines written on it.

By Order of Judge Fouglar, high Judge of Ouranil, _ prisoners are to be sent to Purgatory at noon for their crimes against the Kingdom of Palmer.

The spot that should hold the number of prisoners was blank but the rest look very official, it even included a mark that appeared to be an official stamp.

Aurora asked, "Where did you get this?"

"I made it, though this was actually like the fiftieth attempt. I used a skill called Forgery so it should pass preliminary inspection." Aurora asked, "So how are we going to get our stuff through while being prisoners? They don't just send people fully armed with lots of provisions, that is one of the main reasons people can't escape alive."

Crane smiled, it was good to work with professionals who went as far as to research the small details. Crane pulled out another piece of paper.

Supply shipment for Purgatory.  
Red Herbs  
Antidotes  
Vessels of water  
Bandages

Again, despite a large blank area the paper looked quite official. Crane said, "Every once in awhile a bag of supplies is sent to Purgatory. We will stuff all our equipment and supplies into a bag, then with this piece of paper take it with us to the prison. I know a shop that will make prisoner clothes for you no questions asked, but you will have to buy your own."

The plan to get there was pretty solid, it had few repercussions and the risks were fairly minimal. As long as the forgeries weren't uncovered prematurely, they should get there without any problems.

Titan spoke up, "And how are we going to return after finding the prince?"

Crane said, "I can summon a large fire monster at will. We can ride him all the way to Donriel."

Aurora smiled, "So we have a way to get there, we have a way to get back, now we just need to know how to find him. I don't know about you but I wasn't even given a name. How are we supposed to find him?"

Crane answered, "He was four when he got there twenty years ago. I doubt many people arrived there at the age of four. Also I've seen a painting of his father. I'm sure I'll be able to recognize him after we've narrowed down who it could be."

Aurora paused for a moment before saying, "It sounds like you could do all of this yourself. Why do you need us?"

At this Titan shot questioning Aurora a look before coming to the same realization she had. 'Why share a quest that splits the rewards when you could do it on your own?'

Crane answered. "To put it simply, what I need to do there is more than just retrieving the prince. I think there is a spell I can learn there. It has to do with fire giants so I will need your help infiltrating the fire giant camp."

The pair stared at Crane for a while, there expressions changing every few seconds. First was humor, they thought Crane was joking. Then realization, he wasn't. Then fear, Crane expected them to get close to what was publicly recognized to be some of the most powerful monsters in the Versailles continent, just behind dragons. Then acceptance, Crane established that he could do the quest without him so if they refused he would not allow them to partake of the quest with him. They had to make a choice, to go into the heart of one of the most dangerous places in the world, or stay behind.

Crane, Titan, and Aurora, all in prisoner's uniforms were being lead to the teleport gate by four guards. Bribing them wasn't cheap, but Crane wasn't the one who paid for it.

The guard gave the authorization paper to the man at the gate who said, "Yes we've been expecting you." Crane had followed procedure and sent a forged notice in advance so the mages had time to prepare the gate. Behind them another bribed pair of guards appeared holding a large sack. Another group of guards appeared from the teleport station to relieve the bribed guards who then left the trio. Behind him Crane heard, "Hmm, prisoner transport and supply transport on the same day, that's never happened before." Crane's blood ran cold for just a moment, he saw Titan's closed hand clench hard, he likely had some small Mananite fragments inside his palm in case everything went bad. "Hmm, paperwork seems in order.. Ok, send it through." Crane tried not to show his great relief at the guard's words.

The bag was brought to the side of the teleport chamber and the prisoners brought to the center. Everything was going fine, until one of the guards opened the supply bag.

The guard smiled and said, "So what did we get today?" In an instant Crane realized what was happening, the guards here were corrupt, they likely took and sold all the supply packages, claiming they sent them through, no one would be the wiser.

Crane rose his arm in the air and shouted, "Thurisaz!" A bolt of lightning shot out and struck the man who was opening the bag.

"WHAT THE?! These guys are supposed to be a warrior and two thieves! Get that kid!"

"Kenaz!" Crane's hands were glowing orange, he dashed first to the line of mages while yelling, "Don't kill the mages!" The mage he came up to seemed to be speaking a spell, but before anything happened Crane struck him just below the ribs with his scorching fist, right in the diaphragm. It was a blow that paralyzed the lungs, preventing him from breathing, thus casting spells. Crane rushed to the next mage while looking to his side, Titan had made a pair of knives for Aurora and Titan himself was running around swatting the mages with a large club before throwing piles of shattered mananite at them. The mage in front of Crane sent a large fireball at him. Crane stuck his hands forward and when he made contact with the fire he swept his hand to side, drawing the heat to follow. The fireball moved to the side and around Crane, this was the first time he tried moving fire with the Kenaz spell but it wasn't completely effective, Crane had still taken a little damage. Crane took out the mage with another diaphragm punch and moved on the the next one, but this time he was too slow. The mage shot a lightning bolt at Crane who could only take it head on. Crane charged through and took the mage out. The two spells had reduced Crane's health by half. The thing about mages is that they were the highest damage dealers in the game. If Crane didn't have any magic resistance then he would likely have been killed by the fireball and lightning bolt.

The other three mages were incapacitated by Titan who had just passed Crane and had thrown a pile of crushed mananite at the mage. When a mage covered in mananite attempted to use magic the mananite grew, absorbing the mana that should have gone into the spell rendering the mages useless. To the right near the entrance was the guards, or what was left of them. Aurora had killed them all and was now stacking them into a pile, Titan was putting all the mages into a corner, making sure they all were coated in crushed crystal shards to prevent them from spell casting. Crane stood in front of the mages.

"Hello guys. Now here are your options. We leave here and ensure that the government knows that these supplies have never made it to Purgatory. The punishment for which is... well... You'll probably be sent there yourselves, in which case the prisoners will likely learn that you are the guys responsible for taking their supplies."

Crane let the idea sink into the mages while he used battle aura to give the perception that he was someone with great authority. When Crane saw fear permeate each of them he gave them a way out.

"Your other option is to lie. You say that you lot knew nothing about the stealing of supplies, that you guys found out and the guards tried to kill you so you defended yourselves. You guys should be able to fill in the small details yourselves."

Crane saw hope fill them as he weakened his aura. Crane then continued, "We will let you guys out on the condition you send us to purgatory with our supplies. After that you can report whatever you see fit. What do you say?"

Intimidate, trap with fear, let them see a way out, then release them to do it. There was no doubt they would tell the guards exactly what Crane said to. The group nodded and Titan came to break the crystals off.

Since Plan A went out the window there was no point in going incognito, before teleporting the group took their stuff out of the supply bag and fully equipped themselves. Crane noticed that Titan had actually made a full plate armor over his chain mail that was made of mananite. Since mananite was a restricted substance, the Crystal Knight couldn't legally wear it in the city. Aurora had a long bow on her back and a baselard dagger on her belt. Crane had never seen one before but he recognized the capital I shaped handle. She spoke up, "Everyone ready?"

Titan replied, "I'm ready to go." Crane loaded the supply bag in the center of the teleport circle and the mages got ready. There was a chance they would send Crane to a different fortress's telepad, but Purgatory was the most dangerous of them all, any other place wouldn't guarantee that the group wouldn't return and come for the mage's lives. It was in every way in their best interest to send them to where they wanted to go.

Titan, Aurora, and Crane stood still in the center as the mages began chanting. Crane noticed Titan had his fist clenched again, could never been too careful. The mages rose their staffs in unison and and the magic circle inscribed into the floor began to glow. With a final shout of the mages the floor grew so bright the group was completely engulfed in light. When it died down the mages were gone and the room was dark, stale, and broken. Dim lights pierced through the cracks of the walls in the long abandoned chamber.

Aurora silently stepped forward first. She walked towards what appeared to be the way out, then bent down and put her hand on the ground. Crane could only guess but he was pretty sure she was using the skill, Detect. It lets you, through the vibrations in the ground, know the positions of moving bodies around around the area. She spoke softly, "Twelve incoming. This position is not defendable, follow my lead."

Aurora bolted out the door followed by Crane and Titan, they left the prisoner supply sack minus their own supplies which was now in their inventory. The outside was a picturesque nightmare. A fortress a third the size of Yarsan, which was still larger than an average town, made of black stone built within the mouth of an active volcano several miles in diameter. Crane didn't know where they were within the fortress but he didn't have time to check. The dozen pursuing them made sure of that. The people here weren't supposed to have access to armor or weapons but there were still too many variables to fight head on. If the man they had been sent to retrieve was among the pursuers and was killed, the mission and Crane's long term plans would disappear like a leaf thrown into a pit of lava. Aurora lead them through narrow passages and past several empty buildings, always looking inside the door of each one as she ran. Suddenly she entered on of the buildings followed by Crane and Titan. She went to a spot on the stone floor and lifted it up, revealing a false panel made to look like stone, and slipped inside. Crane motioned for Titan to go in first while he watched the door.

- I've lost sight of them.  
- They could not have gone far!  
- Check every building!

Crane jumped into the secret entrance and closed it behind him while listening to the yells outside. Inside was dark but thanks to several spy holes it was not pitch black. Titan and Aurora both took up holes to spy through, and Crane found his own. Crane guessed that Aurora had used another ranger skill to see the locations of hidden areas, and used it to find a place to hide by searching each house.

Two people came into the house, they wore antique armor Crane guess they found in some storage shed left behind before the fortress was abandoned. Crane and his companions didn't make a sound while the pair above them searched. A few seconds later the pair finished.

- They're not here.  
- Dammit! If we don't find them, Daxxon will...  
- I know, I know. Just keep searching, those guys came through fully armored. Just keep searching.

The pair nodded to each other and left the building. The trio remained silent for another thirty minutes before Aurora gave the all clear sign. Crane spoke first. "I say we re-equip the prisoner's uniforms and go out exploring". Aurora said, "I think we should first look into the Daxxon guy, the way these quests usually go, either he will be the heir or he will know of his whereabouts." The trio agreed to all parts and re-equipped the prisoner's uniforms, then with Aurora leading the way, left the safe room.

Their first priority was to stay unnoticed, to do that they had to go to an area with people so they would blend in and also make sure that everyone else was wearing prison uniforms as well. With this in mind they slowly moved around the fortress with Aurora checking around the corners, looking for groups of people who were not looking for them. After ten minutes they came to what Aurora believed to be the housing area of the prisoners. She said, "I'll go check out the area, I can do it better alone so you two stay put. Titan and Crane nodded and waited for her return. They waited for another hour. This was in fact the first mission he had done covertly. Usually he did something large and unexpected to throw his opponents off their game to move at his pace, but such actions were only appropriate when one had all the information. In this place killing the wrong person would lead to instant failure so covert was best way to go. He didn't mind at first because he admired the stories of covert assassins who struck when the moment was right to best finish the quest. But what those books didn't include, was the seemingly endless waiting that such timing required.

When Aurora returned, she said, "All the prisoners who were wearing prison uniforms had a certain mark on them." She showed a blue bird insignia on her own that she had added. "If you two add this mark, we should be fine to wonder around the area." Aurora took out some blue pigment she had acquired and applied it to Crane's and Titan's uniform to make the same mark. She then lead them to the prisoner's area. They entered without anyone giving them more than one look. After successful infiltration Titan said, "I say we split up and collect information from around here." Aurora nodded, "Agreed, but we can't look like we are prying or people will get suspicious about our motives." Crane added, "There are ways of getting answers without asking questions. If we say something to the people here like, 'This place is truly hell, a child would die in a day,' then people who know of a child who survived and made it would speak up just to prove you wrong. Stuff like that should work."

The pair nodded and they split up, agreeing to meet back in one hour. Crane wandered around until he found a group of men fighting one another. Crane smiled and walked forward until he was inside the group and patiently waited for someone to hit him. Less than a second later Crane got his wish, a hulking middle aged man threw his monstrously sized fists at him. Crane grabbed the fist, swept a foot to the side, gave a shout and threw the man over his shoulder into another group of people. After that he had their attention. In a matter of seven minutes Crane had punched, kicked and thrown everyone inside the group into a pile of semi-unconscious goons. Although they were not dead, they were in no state to answer any questions. Crane didn't mope over it though, he got a general idea of the strength of the populace. Crane left to wander around some more before heading back to the meeting point. When he got there Titan and Aurora were both waiting, Titan with an innocent look on his face, Aurora an annoyed one. She said to Crane and Titan, " I learned several things in my search, but not much. Halfway through the investigation everybody in the area was talking about one of two incidents. One of which was a large brawl in which a tall kid walked away from a pile of twenty grown men without a scratch." She then turned to Titan. "And the other about the same only it was a large man who walked away from a pile of thirty men." Crane turned to Titan who smiled back at him. Aurora continued, "I'm not sure which is worse, having a child as the party leader or having a grown , man who acts like a child." After letting the statement sink in for a moment she continued, "At the very least from what I've heard you two achieved the desired effect. This Saxxon guy will send out scouts to recruit you two by the end of the day. Only one of you needs to go and only Crane could recognize our guy so it should be him. Titan and I will dig a little deeper around here in case Daxxon isn't our man."

Titan said, "That's fine with me, but I think one of us should check outside the prison."

Before deciding which among them should check outside, Aurora said, "Crane, could you apply that ancient magic to Titan's crystals?"

Crane remained silent for a moment and said, "Yes and no. I could not apply it in the same way because carving into crystal requires sculpture mastery a little higher than my own. And the use of that skill without intermediate blacksmithing causes the durability to decrease. That would render the weapon worthless. However there is a way for me to apply a rune to his crystals without decreasing durability. "

Crane got out something he always carried but rarely used, a tiny pot, a brush, and three, two by six inch paper. Crane said, "Titan, make a crystal club."

The knight got out a chunk of mananite and it started to glow, it rapidly expanded out of his hand and into the shape of a club. Crane set out three sheets of paper and set the paintbrush into the inkpot. He then drew a single, remarkable straight solid line on the piece of paper while concentrating on the thought, 'A frozen state, completely unchanging,' and said, "Isa."

Talisman Created  
Maximum mana decreased by 25

Crane did the same with the other two pieces creating three of the same talisman. Crane then said, "Lets get a control test, smash that club as hard and you can into the wall."

Titan walked over to the nearby wall of the building they stood next to and smashed the club into it with all his might.

CHRSSS!

The crystal club shattered into pieces against the black stone wall. Crane said, "Ok, now the talisman test. Please make another."

Titan did so, making another from the shattered fragments of the first.

"Ok, now take one of the talismans I made and attach it to the club."

Both Aurora and Titan looked at each other, Aurora nodded. Titan picked up one of the talismans with the glowing rune and put it on the crystal club. When it made contact the rune shined for a moment before moving on its own. It wrapped itself around the club and stayed there, without any adhesive. Crane then said, "Now strike the wall again, really give it everything you got."

Again Titan reeled back, took a breathe, then smashed his club as hard as he could against the wall.

CRKOOOOM!

The sound was remarkably different, that was because what broke that time wasn't the club, but the wall. When Titan held up the club again, he saw the talisman was no longer glowing, it detached and fell to the ground.

Crane spoke up. "That talisman keeps something from changing. It freezes it in place."

Titan said, "But it wasn't cold."

"Not that kind of freeze. I mean like when someone yells, 'Freeze!' It prevents change, like breaking for instance. Here is another example of what it can do, can you make a spear?"

Titan smashed the club into the wall without blinking, shattering it in a big pile and from the broken handle piece made a spear. Crane said, "You said you can make that grow longer right? Do it, then place a talisman on it, and try again."

Titan did so, it started glowing and half a second later doubled in length, quite a feat. He then snapped it in half and attached the talisman to it. After it wrapped itself around the spear, Titan made it glow again, but the length didn't change. What did happen was that the talisman started smoking. The more Titan tried to make it grow, the more light smoke came of the talisman, until the talisman itself stopped glowing, unwrapped and fell off the spear. After which Titan was able to lengthen it.

Aurora asked Titan, "What happened?"

He answered, "It looks like the thing could only prevent a certain accumulation of change. Either one big one or a few small ones.

Crane said, "I can make a few hundred of those things but for each one I make my mana cap reduces until the talisman is used."

Aurora who had paid attention to every detail said, "What other effects can you make?"

"What effect you want?"  
Aurora took out her quiver and said, "While here I can put fire spirits into these arrows but for the monsters here I think something else will be required."

Crane was impressed, even he had never thought of using talismans on arrows. Crane thought about the various rune effects he could use and said. "Give me twenty of your arrow. I'll make you some arrows that will be effective against the monsters in the area. Though it will take some time"

Skill Level Up: Rune Write [2]  
Maximum mana consumed per rune reduced by 2

Skill Level Up: Rune Mastery [5]  
+2% increase in Rune effect. (Now at +10%)  
Can now learn 2-Circle magic

Crane made twenty talismans with two runes on each, reducing his maximum mana by almost 1000. Had the skill not leveled up it would be exactly 1000. Besides the mana reduction, creating a talisman used the rune's cost as well, so after using up all his mana he wait to wait for it to return before finishing. When finished he had twenty arrows with a combo rune spell on each. The Kenaz rune represented control over the energy of creation, the Isa rune represented the power of the world of Niflheimr. Crane used them to make a spell that took control over the heat within a body and repressed it, then after repressing it, used the link to Niflheimr to chill the body. Crane took one of the arrows and said, "Identify."

Heat Suppressing Elvenwood Arrow of Niflheimr  
Durability: 10/10. Attack 15.  
Elvenwood arrow with a rune talisman applied that gives additional effects  
Requirements: Level 100, Agility 150  
Effects:  
Reduced fire affinity of target by 20%  
Grants +25% damage from Ice

When Aurora and Titan returned Crane let them see the arrows. Aurora stuttered, "These.. this.. This is incredible. "

Crane got up and said, "Don't keep them, as long as those arrows remain unused, my maximum mana won't go back to normal. Anyways its been long enough, I'm sure the scouts for the armored guys are looking for us. Imma go get found." Crane didn't need to wait to hear who would explore the outside area, it wouldn't be him anyways.

It didn't take long for the recruiters from the armored group to find him. Crane wasn't exactly hiding. He did his best to stand out by doing sets of several repetitions of 250 one handed handstand push ups, one of the things he found that would increase his strength and vitality stat if done a few hours a day. The group that came had four people, all wearing armor wielding antique swords. Crane was pretty sure they were not going to accept no for an answer. The one with the nicest equipment came forward to Crane and said, "Hey kid, you're the one who thinks he's pretty tough right? Come with us." Crane looked at the men without fear but did not give them any indication of challenge. "Sure, I got nothing better to do." The men took their hands off their weapons with some reluctance. Crane guessed they had wanted to fight and beat him up first, the type who looked for a reason to fight. The group lead Crane out of the housing area and into what appeared to be the main building of the fortress. Crane kept count of each man he saw as well as the variation in different types of armors between them. Soon the group reached a large room and one of them said, "We brought him sir, didn't even put up a fight." The man he spoke to said, "Is that so, alright, you all can go." Crane stood there wordlessly and pretended to seem like the uncaring type. The man said, "Follow me, Daxxon wanted to see you." It was the best outcome for Crane, the man he wanted to see had requested to see him first. The pair left the man's room and went down the hall then up the stairs to the roof. From the roof one could see over the walls of the fortress to the walls of the volcano around them.

On the roof was a man, mid twenties with a large, barbarian like build, small eyes, bulbous nose, and tall forehead. Not a one of these features matched the father of the man he was looking for, this guy was no one. He approached Crane and said, "I received a report saying three people wearing armor arrived through the teleporter today. The description I received of you and one of the members who came matched. So, tell me what brought you to Purgatory."  
Since this guy wasn't the prince Crane couldn't tell him the truth, but recognized the way the man was looking at him. There existed a skill that lets you perceive when a person says something they know isn't true. When using it you look at someone in a specific way, then when they lie you see them glow. The man had not even threatened him which for someone of his reputation was very suspicious.

"I am looking for a spell, a fire spell I believe is inside the lair of the fire giants, just outside the entrance to the volcano." If Daxxon had the lie detection skill, he would believe Crane's outlandish claim, if not, there is no way he would believe him, meaning Crane could lie about his true purpose.

Daxxon remained silent for a moment, looking very closely at Crane. "You came here for a fire spell... If you came on purpose, then you obviously didn't intend to stay. So, tell me everything."  
"Ok, a description of the fire spell claims it is the source behind the destructive power of the fire giants. I requested assistance from my guild for my mission, two people came along after agreeing to help me acquire the fire spell. However I told them that leaving without getting the fire spell is not option. They came knowing that they could only leave after I acquired the spell."  
Nothing Crane said was false, but when put together like that, it made it seem like getting the fire rune was the key to leaving purgatory alive. Daxxon asked, "What is so special about this fire spell, surely there are other fire spells you can obtained with greater ease."  
Crane said, "Have you ever seen a fire giant's weapon?"  
Daxxon nodded, "Aye, greatswords that burn anything they touch, they are perhaps more dangerous than the giants themselves."  
Crane nodded, "The fire spell I seek is no ordinary thing. If I acquire it, I can imbue that power into weapons! With that I will be able to make the most power weapons ever! And after I've done so it will be possible to leave for anyone with a weapon engraved with that fire spell." Possible, yes, anything was possible, but not likely.  
Daxxon said, "Wait! Did you say create? Imbue? Are you a blacksmith of some short?"  
Crane smiled, opened up his menu and took out some of his smithing equipment and said, "Let me show you what I can do, give me your sword."  
Daxxon hesitated for a moment, but Crane had still yet to lie to him, so he gave Crane his sword. Crane looked at the thing first, "Identify."

Imperial Captain's sword  
Durability 31/58  
Damage- 15~17  
A steel sword forged for a captain of the guard. Used in the army of the Muspelheim Empire.  
Options: +5 STR  
Requirements:  
STR 70

Crane guessed that these guys used a weapon until it broke then got out another one, there probably wasn't another person who could use the repair skill in the city, much less a blacksmith. "Repair."

Maximum Durability has been partially restored.

Imperial Captain's sword  
Durability 80/80  
Damage- 18~21  
A steel sword forged for a captain of the guard. Used in the army of the Muspelheim Empire.  
Options: +5 STR  
Requirements:  
STR 70

Crane found out while blacksmithing that after his repair skill hit intermediate, he could restore a fraction of permanently lost durability, something useful for ancient weapons whose max durability was lost with time. He made a note to find and repair all the broken antique weapons in the fortress base to increase his skill. Before giving the sword back to Daxxon, Crane got out his sculpting knife and carved four Thurisaz runes onto the sword, each pointing outward, two on both sides. Then he imagined them as sources of great power that would smite all enemies of the wielder with the power of Thor's hammer Mjölnir. "Thurisaz!"

The durability of the sword has dropped  
Maximum mana decreased by 200  
Imperial Captain's sword added to Used Rune list  
Additional effects added to Imperial Captain's sword.

"Identify"

Imperial Captain's sword of lightning  
Durability 60/60  
Damage- 19~21  
A steel sword forged for a captain of the guard. Used in the army of the Muspelheim Empire.  
Powerful rune magic has been inscribed into this weapon  
Options: +5 STR  
Grants an additional +20 lightning damage  
Can cast spell: Thunderbolt  
Mana cost: 200  
Requirements:  
STR 70

The sword's maximum durability plummeted, but it was still higher than it was before repairing, and now it was an incredibly powerful weapon. The runes that glowed on each side gave it an aura that made it seem majestic and powerful. Crane could only be jealous at how it came out, he could put four runes on it because of the width of the blade. No matter how much he wanted to he couldn't put runes on a thin rapier.

Crane handed the sword back to Daxxon who practically ripped it out of Crane's hands. He held it like it was made of priceless gems, then looked at Crane like he was made of the same. Crane then said, "Now hand over your armor and shield." 

Maximum mana decreases by 400  
Captain's Breastplate added to Used Rune list  
Additional effects added to Captain's Breastplate  
Imperial Shield added to Used Rune list  
Additional effects added to imperial shield

Captain's Breastplate  
Durability 110/110  
Defense 44  
Steel breastplate armor used in the the Muspelheim Empire's army . Powerful rune magic has been inscribed into this armor.  
Options:  
Grants 20% Damage reflection in the form of lightning magic  
Armor loses durability very slowly, but cannot be repaired  
Requirements:  
Level 120 Strength 200

Imperial Shield  
Durability 100/100  
Defense 30  
Steel shield used in the the Muspelheim Empire's army . Powerful rune magic has been inscribed into this shield.  
Options:  
Grants 25% Damage reflection in the form of lightning magic  
Shield loses durability very slowly, but cannot be repaired  
Requirements:  
Level 100 Strength 180

To the armor and shield Crane added three thurisaz made into a triangle with the points poking out, and added an Isa rune in the center. The thurisaz triangle represented outward pointing thorns which protected the item, like the thorns of a stem protected the rose. Anyone who touches a rose will be pricked which is why the shield and armor actually damaged those who attacked it. The Isa rune was just there for stability, it kept the state of the armor from changing which would decrease the rate the armor lost durability, at a cost of being unable to repair it. Again Crane could only be jealous, he had no way to permanently inscribe runes into leather and cloth, so he would not be able to make his own rune armor until he reached intermediate blacksmithing and became able to wear metal armor. And even better once he did he would be able to inscribe runes without lowering durability.

After giving the armor and shield back to Daxxon, Crane could see the gears working in his head so he thought he would add to them. "Before you say anything, this skill has a limitation. I cannot produce infinite of those runes. I can safely make about 100 more, the more on any one weapon the stronger it is, the fewer on each weapon the more I can make. I cannot make more runes until the weapons I have added runes to have been destroyed." Daxxon could see Crane still wasn't lying, though Crane still left out quite a few important details. Crane could make about 150 runes before his mana was completely gone, but it was only safe to make another 100, leaving him with about 3000 mana left to defend himself.

Daxxon remained quiet for some time considering all Crane had said. "I doubt you would do such a thing without cost. What do you want?"

Crane smiled, "For enhancing your equipment, I want all the information you have on the fire giants. If you give me and my friends freedom to move around the prison without trouble I'll repair all the equipment you want me to. If you help me get into the fire giants camp I'll imbue a hundred runes into whatever weapons and armor you want, and if I actually get the rune I need then I will give it to any soldiers you choose and you and your men may leave here together with me and my party."

Daxxon thought for a moment and said, "I'll have one of my men take you to the armory, repair all you can." He did not say if he agreed but if he didn't then he had no way of getting Crane to make more magic armor, or leaving for that matter. For now Crane's first priority was checking in on Titan and Aurora. There were very few places in Versailles where whispers and group messages were blocked but places of incarceration were among them. The only way to tell them that Daxxon was the wrong guy was face to face. For now Crane would obediently follow the man leading him to a place he had already decided he would go to increase his repair skill, but Crane already had no intention of giving Daxxon what he wanted.

Two hours and hundreds of repaired weapons later Crane heard a knock on the door. When he opened it a familiar elf was standing on the other side and quickly came in. It seemed she had easily infiltrated the base and gathered info on Crane's whereabouts within. Crane said, "Daxxon isn't the prince, got any other candidates?"

Aurora looked around the armory while answering, "Yes. The sole man who lives outside the fortress walls. The only person who openly fights anyone from the armored group. He is also the right age, his name here is Jinir. I just need you to confirm." Aurora pulled out a hand drawn sketch of a man's face. It seemed Crane wasn't the only member who practiced skills that weren't used in battle. Crane looked over the detailed picture and said, "No doubt, this is our guy. Tell me what you've learned."

"Ok, first thing is that most of what goes around here revolves around a twenty acre area outside the walls where people actually grow crops. There was already a system built in that brought stored rainwater that fell outside to that area and the volcanic soil grows crops well enough to feed everyone. Its still extremely dangerous because the monsters that roam outside tend to eat the food harvesters themselves. A long time ago some prisoners found this room, the one we're standing in and others like it, places where armor and weapons were stored. They used them to subjugate the prisoners into something like a slave class and forced them to give the food that was harvested to them. So the prisoners took all the risk in harvesting and the armored guys got most of the food. This went on for a while until Jinir came along. No one knows about his past but the story goes he came here as a child. When he became an adult he started picking fights with armored guys, and won most of them. This armored group has about sixty members, but no one is able to beat Jinir. It is well known where he lives but all the guys who go there to fight him never return."

Crane thought it over for a bit and said, "Well, I planned on letting them live before, but now I think I'll just let everyone in this base die. I told Daxxon I would engrave runes into all the armor and weapons they wanted."

Aurora said, I'm not following, how will that let them die? From what I've heard, the first thing Daxxon will do if he gets more powerful equipment is kill Jinir."

Crane said, "The first thing you say? Where is Titan?"

"With Jinir. The possibility was good that was our guy so Titan stayed as a bodyguard."

"Good." Crane opened his inventory and took out the knife he forged and had carved a rune into, then handed it to Aurora. the rune inside it still glowing. Crane then said, "Show Used Rune List."

Used Rune List

-Fine Steel Knife of Niflheimr  
-Captain's Sword of Lightning.  
-Captain's Breastplate  
-Imperial Shield

From this window Crane could see each item's stats and he could destroy them as well. He clicked on the Captain's sword and then on stats.

Imperial Captain's sword of lightning  
Durability 52/60  
Damage- 19~21  
A steel sword forged for a captain of the guard. Used in the army of the Muspelheim Empire.  
Powerful rune magic has been inscribed into this weapon  
Options: +5 STR  
Grants an additional +20 lightning damage  
Can cast spell: Thunderbolt  
Mana cost: 200  
Requirements:  
STR 70

The sword was losing durability which meant Daxxon was using it to fight. Although that sword let its user cast magic the sword itself wasn't made for such a task so it lost a great deal of durability each time a spell was used. Crane used voice command, "Destroy all."

Destroy all Rune engraved Items?  
Yes|No

"Yes."

CRRK

After answering the prompt, the list vanished and Crane heard a crack sound next to him. The knife that Aurora was holding had a large crack through the middle of the rune and the rune itself was no longer glowing. Crane's mana max mana bar increased by 650, though Aurora would need to use all the arrows Crane gave her for all his mana to return to normal.

Aurora asked, "Did you upgrade Daxxon's weapons?"

Crane said, "Yea, it would be a shame if he went to fight Jinir and everything he had broke."

Aurora rolled her eyes and said, "We need to get out of here before word of what happened gets back here."

Crane said, "Yea, my bad. I wanted to use Daxxon and his men to distract the fire giants before throwing them away, but if Daxxon went to fight our would be prince, I can't have him win."

Aurora said, "No chance of that. Titan won't leave Jinir's side til the quest is over. He is one of the best bodyguards you could ever find." Crane nodded, that was one worry off his back. But there was still the problem that his half-thought-out-plan brought. He said, "So what do you think we should do with these weapons I repaired?" If they left them there then the Armored group would still become more powerful and a threat to Jinir by proxy. If they took them with then one of them would have to carry a large sack through an enemy base while the other defended. And Crane had no way to destroy them all before the armory was surrounded by guards angry at Crane's betrayal. Aurora answered, "This place is rich with fire, I can call any fire spirits that are around to come and destroy these things."

Crane forgot that Aurora's info sheet said she could use elemental spirits. Crane never asked but she was probably able to use local spirits to gain information. Crane said, "Perfect, but how long will that take?"

"Just a moment. I specialize in calling local spirits so although I can't summon my own like a summoner I can be more flexible depending on location." Aurora began speaking softly in what Crane guessed to be elvish, either a spell, prayer, or chant. After a moment six fireball appeared in the room and began going through the piles of weapons. Aurora said, "I've asked them to burn all these here and in a few other armories as well."

Crane smiled and said, "Nice, now let's get out of here."

Aurora lead Crane out of the room and down the hall, it took less than fifteen seconds to find a group of armored prisoners looking for them. Aurora shot arrows but the men had shields and in a narrow hall they knew where to block. Crane rushed in with a rapier in one hand and dagger in the other. The guard tried to shield bash Crane but he had seen that move too many times performed by someone much stronger, Crane faked to one side of the shield making his opponent turn to face where he thought Crane went only to reveal his own back to Crane. This close Crane couldn't stab the man with his rapier but with his dagger he could pierce the small of the back at the base of the man's armor.

Ding*

Skill acquired: Knife Mastery [1] 0%  
Increases attack speed and critical hit chance for knives.  
+10% ATK SPD +3% Critical Hit chance while using a knife.

The next man held a longsword and was already halfway through his slashing motion about to split Crane at the diagonal. Crane caught the sword with his knife and directed it over Crane's head in a smooth parry that left the man open to have his neck sliced with Crane's rapier. Before Crane would parry and attack with two separate movements but now, with a knife in his off hand to parry, Crane could attack with one hand and parry with the other in almost the same movement. Though he would have to practice. Crane causally asked Aurora, "So where can we find more of these guys?"

From down the hall where Aurora was slicing through guards with her baselard sword she said, "The main hall and training hall."

Crane yelled as he stabbed his knife into the neck of another man, "Lead the way."

If Crane alone killed every person in the base he may not even gain one level. Even though these people all had weapons and armor the reason they remained in Purgatory was because they would be killed by the monsters if they ever really tried to leave. Not a one of them other than Daxxon seemed to be greater than level 120. But Crane wanted to break in a new weapon so this was a good place to train. After Crane was done with his group he saw Aurora waiting for him. She lead him next to the door of the training hall, then sat down. She probably understood Crane's intentions and didn't want to take part. Crane opened the door to reveal a training hall much smaller than that of Yarsan's. It looked to have about 100 dummies, though about a fifth of them were being used. A broad shouldered man standing next to the door said, "Are you here to train your sword skills?"

Crane smiled and said, "No sir, I'm here to train my off handed knife skills."

The man gave Crane a disappointing look and said, "Sorry young lad but this is a place for swordsman."

Crane pretended to be said before saying, "How about a fight between us? I'll use a rapier and knife. Can you prove you're better than me? Unless you're all talk."

The man was furious, "PREPARE TO DIE!"

The instructor's yells resounded throughout the training hall and the people who were practicing sword skills stopped to check out what was happening. The instructor swung his sword down with impressive speed, but Crane half stepped out of the way. However without losing momentum the sword turned from going down to going to the side right into Crane's body. Crane blocked it with his knife while using his rapier to attack the instructor's neck. But the man bent back and only received a scratch on the face. Crane rushed forward while the instructor was off balance to strike the neck again but Crane's strike was blocked, which opened up the man's side for a knife strike, but the man ducked under Crane's sword held in place by his own to dodge that as well.

Crane did his best to memorize every motion of the man. If Crane used any of his finesse forms or rune spells he could take him out but Crane wanted to fight without them for now The last time Crane fought someone stronger than him he had to use every trick in the book just to draw out a stalemate and and to use his last resort to win. Crane had to increase his actual combat experience and fighting a sword instructor to the death was ideal.

Crane tried to stab the man's shoulder and was parried, but this time he used the knife to fake out the instructor. When Crane extended his off hand to make it look like he was going for the man's side, Crane flicked his main hand, using the flexibility of his rapier to send the flick motion down his sword until the tip was about to wave in the direction of the man's shoulder, and at that instant Crane extended his arm further which, when the tip was pointing at the instructor, caused the blade to stab sideways, past the man's sword guard.

Ding*

Skill Acquired: Whip Strike[1] 0%  
Attacks opponents around their guard.  
Can only be used with a rapier.

Crane figured out that the reason he was given a rapier long ago was because the guy who gave it was a jerk who purposely gave Crane the weapon he thought was the weakest. Crane had been learning sword skills with a rapier so he didn't acquire many as actual skills. This was the first time he actually using a rapier as a rapier instead of a sword.

The instructor reeled back and Crane dashed forward, still pushing his rapier against the man's sword as Crane's knife was thrust deep into the man's rib cage, right into his heart.

You have struck a fatal blow.

Crane removed his blade expecting blood to spurt out, but it did not. 'This is a game after all.'

-That guy killed the instructor.  
-Kill him!

Since there were a few dozen people this time Crane didn't feel guilty using Majestic stance in the time it took them to drop their wooden swords and equip their steel weapons. Crane dashed forward with all his speed into the group and jumped onto a pair of them while stabbing them in the chest.

You have struck a fatal blow.  
You have struck a fatal blow.

The men were dead before they hit the ground. Crane rolled forward into the the crowd, simultaneously toppling the closest ones over before they could strike him while hiding himself within. It was physically impossible for twenty people to attack him at the same time, so he just had to control who could. Crane kept his body bent down while weaving through and stabbing various people in the side with his knife. None of the wounds would cause instant death but they would bleed out in under a minute. Every once in awhile someone would see Crane slithering through the crowd and yell out, but before anyone near could attack, the people from behind them would shove forward, pushing the people facing Crane off balance allowing him to stab them at his leisure.

Skill level up: Knife Mastery [2] 0%  
Increases attack speed and critical hit chance for knives.  
+20% ATK SPD +6% Critical hit chance while using a knife.

After the initial panic subsided the people spread out preventing Crane from continuing his one man ambush tactic. Now the instant Crane moved to attack one of them, three more would attack Crane. He figured now was as good a time as any to play dirty.

Crane used battle aura, he imagined himself as a demon from the darkest depths of hell, an unholy abomination that came for their souls. Crane even imagined the horrible things he would do to their souls, and finally he expanded his aura to engulf the entire fearful group.

With his intermediate level battle aura, the effect was obvious.

-Wha, WHAT IS THAT THING?!  
-He killed the instructor, he's already killed seven men, he can't be human!  
-That is not what a human feels like, he's a monster!  
-Monster?! That man is a Demon!  
-He's come for our souls!

Now at least they wouldn't come at him all at once, Crane had to make them forget their strengths and focus on their weaknesses. Crane faced the area that had the largest number of men and used rune sword. He drew the Thurisaz rune four times and imagined all the suffering the criminals in this room caused the prisoners outside, and let his sense of justice build up, then he imagined he himself was Thor, and was about to sentence the wicked. With the last rune drawn Crane said, "Thurisaz!" 100! This was the first time since his last rapier broke he had gotten his rune sword's finesse rating over 50. Crane didn't know if it was because rune skills required a rapier or if it was just because he was too used to using them with a rapier.

The runes were sucked into the sword like wisps of smoke into a vacuum, then an instant later an enormous thunderbolt shot out from the tip and into the five or so people in front of Crane. Before the bolt Crane heard a footstep behind him so moved to raise his sword to block whatever sword was incoming but it turned out to be unnecessary. The three men who were about to attack when Crane's back was turned froze in fear at Crane's spell. Crane didn't hesitate to kill them and anyone else who Crane saw was frozen in terror.

-RUN! Run For Your Lives!

The group which still had about ten surviving members ran for the exit. Half ran for the front exit, the other half ran for the back. Crane followed those who went for the back exit at a small distance. When they were all in front of him Crane wrote three Isa runes while imagining the men being swallowed up by the cold energy from the depths of the Niflheim and yelled out, "Isa!" 92!

What looked to be a wave of black mist erupted from the tip of Crane's rapier and traveled through the group that was running. It didn't freeze them completely because they were too far but it did slow them down enough for Crane to kill each one before they got to the door. On the other side of the room the men were all banging on the door, trying to get through. On the other side of that one was Aurora who probably barred the door to keep them from escaping. Crane ran to them and killed them before they could put up any real resistance.

Title Acquired: Executioner  
Grants +15% damage against unlawful opponents.  
Fame increased by 100

It took a while but he had killed about thirty prisoners and the instructor and it seemed since they were all prisoners he got a title for doing so, and some fame. Crane walked up and knocked on the door Aurora was blocking. She opened up and said, "Done?"

"Yea, where's the main hall?"

Crane's plans had changed many times over the day. First he intended to use all the men in the armored faction to distract the fire giants before abandoning them, then he decided to torch their weapons and abandon them, now he decided to simply kill everyone he came across in the base to increase his martial skills and knife mastery. Of course Aurora didn't sit still the whole time. After exiting the training hall she glared at Crane telling him not to make her wait next time.

Since the main hall was large and filled with guards, Aurora was free to shoot her bow unrestricted as Crane killed anything that approached her. Crane noticed that whenever Aurora shot a large guard the arrow would set the person on fire. It seemed she could imbue local spirits into her own arrows before firing, and she could do it during the battle without prepping.

The main hall took about ten minutes to empty with Aurora shooting the legs of anyone who tried to escape. When it was over the room was filled with the corpses of those who were either stabbed and bled to death or those Aurora used as pin-cushions. Aurora was already collecting arrows from the corpses so Crane helped out.

Aurora said, "Are you not used to using that knife?"

"Yea, I was told a rapier user should use a knife in his off hand."

Aurora said, "I know a few skills that can be used with an off handed knife."

"Oh cool, feel like sharing?"

"On one condition. I want to see that fire monster you said you can summon. It's not that I don't trust you, but you aren't the only one who feels better when he knows all the variables."

"Alright, but not in here, outside. He is quite large you know."

Aurora lead them outside the base. The entire armor faction was either dead by their hands or had run away in fear, so the base was empty.

"Call Keagan."

A pillar of golden light erupted from the ground, when it dimmed to nothing, it revealed Keagan was now standing in the center.

"Wow. A fire cat. Ya, that will definitely get us across the scorched plains safely."

Crane nodded, he didn't have the heart to tell her that the walls of the volcano couldn't be scaled up from the inside, at least not by Keagan while he was carrying four people. The only available way to exit the volcano to the scorched plains lead right into the fire giant's camp, and Crane still didn't know how to get past them. He also couldn't tell her that although Keagan could sense fighting spirit and avoid it while traveling, Crane had almost no information on the scorched plains themselves and no way to prepare for whatever lived out there.

Crane said, "Do you want to ride Keagan back to Jinir's camp?"

Aurora answered, "Oh, yes please."

"So, about those knife skills."

Aurora smiled and took out a small elvish blade and held it upside down. "I know one foot step motion a block and attack."

Crane put on his humble face and said, "Please tell."

Aurora smiled at the obviously fake face and said, "It is better to demonstrate. You can learn these through imitation, keep what you remember. Now attack me." Aurora took out her baselard sword and kept her knife in her off hand. Crane used noble step to increase his perception of time, and charged to strike her with his rapier. Aurora ran forward to meet Crane, took one step to Crane's right, making it look like she would run by Crane to his right, then she took a step back to just in front of Crane, and took her next step over her leg. She put all her weight on her second step to pivot herself from going to Crane's right to Crane's left, and while doing so she ducked her head completely, removing herself from Crane's line of sight. After taking one more step she was at Crane's back. Had he not increased his movement speed, thus time perception, Crane would have watched her go to his right side, then disappeared completely.

From behind Crane heard, "You were able to see that right? That's the step. Now for the off handed knife block skill."

Crane looked to his side and saw Keagan was laying down, watching the demonstration with some interest. Crane got back into an attack position and tried to strike Aurora. Aurora met Crane's rapier with the face of her knife, then in an instant rotated her knife with such force that the knife's blade forced Crane's rapier away, giving Aurora plenty of room for a variety of counter strikes.

"That one reduces the knife's durability when used but I doubt that means much to someone who can create and repair knives. The last skill is backstab, turn around."

Although a bit nervous Crane turned around as she began speaking. "The trick to make it a skill is simply being aware of where you are aiming. If this were the real world you could pierce their lungs from behind, thus filling them with blood, pierce their spine which would cause paralysis, or worse." At each example she poked the spot on Crane's back she was talking about. "But in the game there is only one spot that gives a definite kill when you strike it with a knife is here." Aurora poked Crane just to the left of his spine at a point a little above the small of his back. Crane felt a small cold shiver crawl up his spine.

Crane turned to face her only to she her smiling at Crane's expense. Crane rolled his eyes and said, "Thank you very much. Now which direction is Jinir's place?"

Aurora looked around the rims on the volcano around them to get her bearings and said, "That way, just a little beyond the wall." Crane jumped onto Keagan's back and motioned for Aurora to do the same.

Before moving Keagan remained silent for a moment and said, "I sense things on the move out there."

At this Aurora turned to Crane and said, "Things?"

Crane nodded, "Monster's whose fighting spirit he has not felt before, just outside the wall in the area Jinir lives."

Aurora said, "He can sense that far?"

Crane nodded, and patted Keagan's side. Crane said, "Hold on," just as the fire cat jump onto the roof of the building, and from there onto another roof. Although Keagan was quite a bit larger than your average house cat, Keagan's jumping ability was no less in comparison with the proportion of his body. Keagan smoothly jumped from roof to roof across the whole of the fortress all the way to the wall. From it Crane looked down it to see hundreds of black thorns that made climbing up from the bottom impossible. From behind he heard Aurora look down and say, "Wait, oh no, Oh No!"

Keagan reared back and launched forward with such force that the stone beneath his hind legs cracked. For about two seconds the trio was weightless, soaring through the air. Though none could appreciate it while a certain elf was screaming her lungs out. Keagan landed safely on the ground and hit the ground running. He was able to lessen the impact through his springy heels without any trouble.

After a few seconds Aurora meekly said, "Sorry about that."

Every spot where lava came up had a trench that lead it to a hole in the volcano wall, and down into the lava pools where the fire giants often slept. The lack of lava made the interior of the volcano barely habitable, though Crane was certain he would think otherwise had he not been wearing an overcoat that provided resistance to extreme heat.

They traveled for a few minutes down the road till they came across several acres of plowed land being cultivated by some of the prisoners. One of the prisoners yelled out, "Fire trolls incoming!" Keagan had been able to get the party there before the monsters arrived.

At the call all the men stopped what they were doing and ran into a single group. Fire trolls like most trolls had a habit of ganging up, fighting one with many. Forming a group was a good defense against small packs.

Crane said, "Now seems like a good time to test out those arrows. " Aurora had already taken out her bow and the quiver she put Crane's arrows in. The pack of six troll were too late to pick off stragglers, the men had formed a tight group. When the trolls got closer Crane saw the differences between them and their mountain cousins, these had pitch black fur, they were slightly larger, and each of their four arms were a bit shorter but thicker. The average level of fire troll was 160, if these men weren't twice as strong as those of the armored faction they would eventually be killed.

Aurora loaded three arrows onto her bow and let them them loose. Each arrow found its target into the back of three of the trolls. With a loud shriek they yelled, announcing to their friends that they had company. The troll's flexible arms reached their backs and removed the arrows like they were nothing, since trolls regenerate health at an appalling rate it may really have been nothing to them, but Crane wasn't worried, those arrows were far scarier than the trolls knew, none would leave alive.

Crane dashed forward sword drawn and charged the pack of trolls. Their instincts kicked in seeing a single target and they moved to surround him, thus giving Aurora clear shots of all of them. Crane took his majestic stance and readied his twelve forms skill. The swordplay did have hand parry motions Crane could translate to attacking or parrying with knife instead of bare handed. Crane swung around like a tornado, striking only with crippling blows that would temporarily stop a troll from moving or attacking while Aurora shot several arrows into each one. The high damage of her bow and the ice damage of the arrows had some effect against the ever regenerating trolls, but it was the second effect of the the arrows that would defeat them. Each arrow reduced the fire attribute of its target by 20%, and the effects stacked. Not completely, a stronger fire monster wouldn't lose its own fire resistance so easily, but these trolls were not that strong. With just a few arrows a piece the fire trolls were actually sweating, the hair that acted as a barrier against the heat of the volcano started smoking. The arrows acted to take away the advantage the local monsters possessed to easily move within the volcano, without it they would actually take damage when the heat built up beyond their tolerance, which for trolls negated their regenerative abilities.

When Crane saw that the trolls seemed to have difficulty breathing he stopped playing defense and focused on one troll at a time allowing the others to strike him freely until his target was dead.

Endurance has increased (+1 END)

Even allowing himself to be hit had its advantages as long as they all died before he did. A moment after killing the first Crane noticed not all of the remaining five were attacking him, another group of fighters came and ruthlessly beat the crap out of the trolls with some of the strongest punches Crane had ever seen, each sending the troll receiving it reeling back. It seemed that the farmer's strategy from the beginning was to huddle together for protection until the reinforcements arrived. Crane and Aurora may not have been needed at all.

With all six trolls dead one of the fighters came up to Crane and said, "I ain't never seen someone fight so many of them for so long and live, you made of stone or something?"

Crane smiled and shook his head, "No sir, I'm used to fighting mountain trolls and these aren't much different, just a little stronger."

Another of the fighters came up and said, "Stronger you say? Well that's interesting. That was the weakest troll I've ever killed, like it had all of its strength taken away from it. Was that your doing young one?"

"You can thank Aurora for that." Crane pointed at her and noticed that several of the other fighters seemed to be flirting with her. Crane spoke up again, "We are here to speak to the man named Jinir."

"I see, alright, that guy lives just over there." The man pointed at what appeared to be a military outpost, long abandoned some time ago. Crane also noticed Keagan had taken the initiative to disappear. He would have known that Aurora and Crane could take on the trolls without difficulty and that more people were coming. In such a situation it was best to remain hidden.

Crane admired as he left that the farming prisoners immediately started harvesting again as soon as the threat was eliminated. Crane called over Aurora who seemed peeved. As she approached Crane heard her mumbling the word 'pigs.' Crane looked back to she that one of the men who Crane saw flirting was smoldering, Aurora must've slightly set him on fire.

"Any problems Aurora?"

"Some men just can't take a hint."

"Well they are criminals."

"Hmmp. So where'd your fire cat go?"

"He knew he wasn't needed and ran off. He'll return when I call him."

Aurora nodded and the pair went to the blackstone outpost. Crane knocked on the door and a moment later Titan answered it and welcomed the pair inside. The other man inside was a tall red haired man with a prominent chin, traits Crane had no doubt he inherited from his father. Jinir raised his head as the group approached and said, "Crane and Aurora right? This man said he would not leave my side until you said it was ok, please do so now."

Crane said, "Sorry, no can do for a while." Titan let out a small sigh. Crane didn't know if it was relief or depression.

Jinir walked up to Crane and Aurora and said, "I already thanked your friend for his help, but we still have bigger problems. Earlier today Daxxon, the leader of the Armored group came to the fields to attack me. Somehow Daxxon had obtain armor that harmed those who attacked it and a sword that could call lightning. Had your friend not been there it would have been bad."

Titan interrupted while glaring slightly at Crane, "Yea, everytime my crystal weapons touched that armor they shattered, almost instantly. I tried to cover the guy in crystal fragments and encasing him in crystal but the armor shattered it off every time. But for some reason his armor, sword, and shield cracked, at the same time no less."

Jinir continued, "We captured him after that, now I'm waiting for the armored group to retaliate and reclaim its leader. I don't know what you guys want, but I can't leave here till then."

Aurora spoke up at that point. "About that, Crane and I had some time to kill while exploring the fortress, so we popped in the armored group's base, destroyed all the weapons and armor stored there, and for good measure killed everyone in the base."

The guard house remained quiet for a moment, before Titan burst out laughing. It was not that he thought she was joking, Crane could tell he was laughing simply because he thought it was funny.

Jinir stared at Crane, Aurora, then Titan for a moment before finally saying, "Who are you people?"

Titan had only now heard Crane's confirmation that Jinir was indeed the prince, so he likely told him very little up to this point. Crane answered with, "I will tell you everything after seeing one thing. Now that all of Daxxon's armored group is dead, what will you do with the man himself?"

Crane locked eyes with Jinir to try and see what was going on in his head. Crane saw flickers of repressed fury, smoldering rage, and burning anger go through the man's eyes one by one. Jinir walked to the upstairs of the guard house and Crane followed. Upstairs was a small jail cell that contained Daxxon. He was tied up and gagged, but when he saw Crane and Jinir, he began making all kinds of sounds Crane would bet were insulting in nature. From a table nearby Jinir picked up a ring of keys and unlocked Daxxon's cell and entered it. He looked Daxxon in the eyes and said, "Do you remember when we first met? It was similar to this, only I was a boy, and our situations were reversed. You told your men to capture every child they could find so you could personally torture each one. You tortured them till they broke, then released them so they would grow up always fearing you. But I never broke, so you never released me. Do you remember how many weeks, how many months, how many years went by like that? I don't. I don't even remember what my life was like before that. But everyday, my hatred of you grew, and grew, until it took a form of its own."

From Jinir's shadow came something that looked like black smoke, but more solid, and deeper, like the embodiment of darkness itself. It then took a form, small, first a small circle, then it solidified into a key.

"You never did figure out how I escaped did you?" Jinir twirled the key around his finger, then it's form turned back to darkness, it took another shape, then solidified again, into a knife. Jinir seemed calm but the knife itself seemed to be emitting pure bloodlust, like the man was able to separate his hatred and rage from his body and give it form. Jinir brought the knife up close to Daxxon who seemed to be shivering in fear from the killing intent coming from the knife, but then the knife vanished into smoke again and the smoke dissolved into the air.

Jinir smiled and said, "Do you know how many times I thought about how I would kill you? It took me years to decide how I would do it. I wanted to make you suffer as much as you made me suffer, but I can't even remember how much that is, so I settled for this."

More darkness came from Jinir's shadow. From Crane's perspective it looked like something from a nightmare, Daxxon's nightmare to be precise. With a form like a black hand with a thousand thin clawed fingers the darkness very slowly came out from Jinir's shadow and creeped inch by inch closer to Daxxon, who was squirming with all his effort to escape his bonds and get away. The look in Daxxon's eyes was that of a small child running away from his nightmare. Crane wondered for a moment if Jinir intended Daxxon to feel the way Daxxon made the children he tortured feel when Jinir came up with this idea.

As Daxxon gave out muffled screams from beneath the gag, the darkness slowly covered him, like a black sheet falling over someone in slow motion. When the darkness over him reached the floor, Crane could still hear the muffled screams, but a moment later they stopped. Jinir stepped forward and the darkness attached itself to his shadow, then the whole blob of it appeared to re-enter his shadow, but it left nothing behind, Daxxon was gone.

Crane casually walked up to Jinir and asked, "Is he dead?"

Jinir smiled, "Not quite, he gave me all this hatred and rage, so I let him join it. He was the source of my darkness in the first place, so it wasn't hard to assimilate him into the darkness whole. No, he is not dead, nor will he ever die, nor eat, or sleep. But even now, I can hear his screaming."

Crane nodded. His first impression of Jinir was a level headed man, which was fine, but the fact that he left Daxxon alive worried him. For Crane's future plans to work, he needed someone on the throne who would not be so lenient towards his enemies. If Crane thought Jinir's personality was too weak to keep the throne, Crane would leave him here without a second thought. But now Crane knew better, Jinir was composed only because of his ability to detach himself from his emotions to make the best choice. If a man or kingdom became Jinir's enemy, the future king would show his wrath.

Crane said, "I am satisfied, ask me whatever you wish. But know this, no man on Versailles could possibly be prepared for what I am about to tell you, but know I tell the truth."

Jinir asked once more, "Who are you people?"

"We are members of the Guild, the Dark Djinns. We grant wishes for those willing to pay the price."

"You came here on purpose?" Jinir had a moment of trouble accepting such a fact, no one comes to Purgatory on purpose.

"Yes, a group of noblemen hired the Dark Djinns to retrieve someone from Purgatory."

"Who?"

"You."

Jinir's eyes widened only for a moment before going back to his poker face. "Why would someone pay to get me out of here?"

"For the same reason someone paid to put you in here, because of who you are."

Crane believed breaking it to someone that they were royalty shouldn't be done without some build up.

"And who am I?"

"You are Herios Goldking VI, son of Herios Goldking V, the former ruler of Donriel Kingdom, which was the previous capital of the Muspelheim Empire, whose king you are a descendent from."

This time Jinir was able to maintain a perfect poker face, though his next question had more of an edge to it. "Who paid to have me sent here?"

What Crane heard was 'Identify my enemy.' Something which Crane was more than happy to do. "You father's older half brother, your uncle the current King Daxes. The blood of the emperor of Muspelheim does not flow in his veins. When your father became fatally sick, you, a boy of only four, were set to inherit the throne. So your uncle had you kidnapped and brought to the teleport gate to be sent here so that your body would never be found. When your father died and you were thought dead, your uncle inherited the throne, no one the wiser. He has since become despotic ruler, a cruel, tyrannical king who abuses his power."

As Crane described his uncle, he saw small flames of darkness lick their way up Jinir's shoulders. Jinir still keep a poker face but his rage could not be held in completely. "Who hired you to retrieve me?"

"A group of noblemen found documents that pointed to the fact that your uncle paid to have you taken away. I do not know them but if they paid us to come to Purgatory without any hard proof you were alive then they are likely loyal to you, if not to your father."

Darkness creeped down Jinir's form to the floor and slowly in Crane's direction. Jinir said, "Most of what you say is the truth, but at one point you lied. When you said the noblemen found the documents."

It seemed by devouring Daxxon alive, Jinir obtained his ability to discern if someone was lying or telling the truth. Crane did not falter the slightest or show any fear. "You are correct, the noblemen did not discover it themselves, the Dark Djinns sold them the information. And the one who gave the Dark Djinns the information, was me."

The darkness receded back into Jinir. "The kind of people who write the script do not perform in the play, they watch from the sideline to make sure it goes according to plan without getting their hands dirty and still manage to take all the credit. Yet you who have orchestrated this whole thing are the one who comes to play it out. What is your true agenda?"

Crane smiled, he thought about all the events that would take place after Jinir took the throne, about all the time he had put into setting up the dominos about about all he would be able to see when Jinir set the first one to fall. "It will be interesting, no?"

Jinir saw nothing to indicated Crane was lying, so he let it go. "So how are we going to get out of here?"

"Lets go back downstairs to discuss that."

Only Jinir and Crane went upstairs, when Crane came back down the stairs Aurora asked, "So how did it go?"

Crane answered as Jinir came down the stairs, "He took it well and wants to know how are we going to leave."

Titan said, "We just ride that fire monster right?"

Crane frowned, ""The fire giants made their camp outside the exit to the volcano."

Titan raised his voice, "Wait, what?! I thought we just had to ride over the volcano's edges, we actually have to pass through the giant's camp to leave?"

Crane sighed, "Keagan, the fire cat who is our ride across the Scorched plains, can't scale these walls with all of us on his back."

Aurora said after a moment, "Can we go one at a time?"

Titan lightened up at this thought, Crane said, "Yea, that's the fall back plan. Now that we're out of the prison we can party chat and send whispers. So here is the plan, Aurora and I will scout the camp with Keagan, Jinir will stay here for now with Titan as his guard." Crane turned back to Jinir. "No one else is coming with us, Keagan can carry four and four alone. Even if took more people out of the volcano, they would be killed before returning home."

Jinir said, "I hold no attachment to this place or anyone in it."

Crane nodded and exited the guardhouse. He had already shot out a burst of battle aura signaling Keagan to come pick them up so he was waiting outside. Crane and Aurora jumped on and left for the fire giant camp.

After about twenty minutes of zigzagging they reached the wall of the volcano and the only ground level exit. Keagan stopped for a moment and actually took a few steps back.

"What's wrong?"

Keagan was shaking, he seemed terrified. He said, "The fire giants. I can sense them."

Crane hadn't considered how sensing monsters as powerful as fire giants would affect Keagan, but the fire cat continued. "There is one there. One among the many. One unlike anything that should be. It cannot be."

Crane took this to mean that one of the fire giants, the chieftain probably, was so strong Keagan felt it should not exist in this world. Crane patted Keagan and said, "Then take us over the wall as far as you feel comfortable."

Keagan started running to the right along the wall for about five minutes before choosing a spot. Like most of the volcano Crane had seen the walls were about at a seventy degree incline. They could still be climbed but the heat that came off the walls was so intense it would sear the flesh of anyone who tried, and fire resistance materials for gloves would burn up if they remained in contact for too long. Crane got off and said, "Take Aurora up first." Keagan nodded, Aurora tightly gripped his fur, and Keagan sprinted up the wall like it was nothing. The wall however got steeper higher up, slowing Keagan down quite a bit. This was the point where too much weight on his back would topple him over. Crane eventually lost sight of them pair up the volcano wall.

About thirty minutes later debris started falling down and Crane saw Keagan sliding down the wall. Keagan slide all the way down. "You alright?"

Keagan nodded, "Already rested."

Crane got on his back and Keagan ran back up the wall. Because hot air rises, it did not get any cooler as they ascended the wall. But Crane had to tightly grip Keagan's hair. When Keagan reached the point where the slope was almost vertical, Crane became worried. Jinir would be ok riding Keagan but Titan would not be. The man was too large and Keagan would not be able to carry him up the side without toppling over. Crane wondered if the man could just make an extending pole of mananite and ride it all the way up and over the side.

After twenty minutes of climbing Keagan reached the top where Aurora was waiting. She said, "I already sent out some spirits to scout and report back, they should be here in a few minutes."

Crane nodded and looked at Keagan. The fire cat was exhausted, more so than when he sprinted for several hours. Crane look out over the edge of the volcano to the interior. It was still night time but the glowing magma rivers at the base lit up the whole area. Crane could see all the way to the fortress. In the other direction Crane saw only darkness. This side of the volcano had a much shallower slope, something that could easily be walked down.

Aurora said, "My scouts returned. They said that the giants have small camps all around the volcano. The volcano has many pools of lava around it with a couple fire giants in each."

"Any openings we can break through?"

"Yes. There seem to be a few areas without lava or giants to break through. Most seem to be around the area in front. Getting out from there would be impossible."

"Ok, we can work something out. I want to get into the head fire giant's camp, can you lead me there?"

For a moment Aurora hesitated, she looked like she was considering whether or not to lie.  
"Yes, but it will be slow going as not to get noticed."

Crane looked at Keagan who was still chilling. "You can go explore if you want. You're the size of a house cat to them anyways." Keagan nodded though he didn't seemed to show any interest in moving from that spot.

Aurora lead Crane down the side of the volcano to a large amount of lights. From up high it looked like a modern city, but each light was really just a torch, an enormous torch. As they got closer Crane could see humanoid forms in the distance, but they were still half a mile away. The closer they got, the larger the forms seemed. Crane realized that the beings were likely over one hundred thirty feet tall. However they were not in the proportions of human, but dwarves. Stocky, broad shouldered, thick armed giants with great red beards and skin like black ash. Several of them had what appeared to be great swords at their sides, almost a hundred feet long and six feet wide. And Crane could see dozens of them. The prospect of fighting them drew a shiver from Crane's spine. The pair drew nearer while decreasing their pace so as not to be noticed by giants. Crane could even see the heads of Giants who were peacefully sleeping inside the lava pools. Since the average fire giant was about level 520, fighting them was not an option. Aurora said, "That one on the right, that's the chief's tent, he is in their I think."

The place had several tents made of the hide of some enormous animal, each almost three hundred feet in height with torches around it. But the ten Aurora pointed to had a river of lava going in one end and out the other. The chieftain likely had his own lava pool to sleep in. Crane pointed to the spot the lava was going into the tent, a large opening with enough room for someone of their height to walk in. Aurora said. "I've escorted you here, and I'll get us back if you need it, but I'm not getting any closer than this."

"That's fine." Crane silently moved forward, stopping whenever a giant walked by. Had it been daytime he would have long since been spotted. When he got close enough to feel the heat of the lava flow that went into the skyscraper of a tent he waited till no one was around. The light from the glowing lava would give him away should anyone see him, he could not move until the time was right.

Giants walked to and from the lava pools continuously for about twenty minutes, during which Crane had no choice but to squat next to a stream of lava that made him feel like he was being baked. Finally a moment came where no giants were passing and Crane moved to the lava stream and silently walked along it into the tent.

Inside seemed even larger than the outside, a city block could fit inside with room to spare. The inside was hotter than the volcano, the insulated space was heated by the enormous pool of lava in the center. Now was the hard part. Crane knew that the weapons of fire giants had the power of the rune Fehu, so Crane had to find a giant's weapon and use Identify. The details of the weapon would give Crane info about how the rune worked. The head of the fire giants would have the strongest weapon which would give the most details about the rune, but Crane didn't see it anywhere. What he did see was the head and torso of a sleeping fire giant at the other end of the pool. The giant seemed even larger than the normal ones, if the proportions were the same then this guy would be about 170 feet tall standing up. The inside of the tent was bare, which meant that the chieftain's sword could only be in one place.

Crane slowly, quietly inched around the pool. In an enclosed space the sound on his footsteps were amplified, he could only do his best to remain silent for the fifteen minutes it took to walk around the pool to get to the giant's side. Crane could now see the hilt of the blade at the giant's side poking out of the lava. 'Of course it's fireproof.' Crane could still get close enough to touch it though, the tip of the hilt was leaning over the edge. However when he got close enough he saw that the tip ten feet above the ground. If he jumped he would make noise when he landed, so his only option was to climb the fire giant's belt up to the scabbard and touch the sword. The giant was still breathing loudly, snoring, now was as good a time as any. Crane gripped the leather of the giant's belt and hoisted himself up, then froze. Nothing, the giant hadn't noticed. Crane moved another two feet up, just within reach of the enormous sword's hilt. He reached up and touched the hilt, it was as hot as the lava, quickly he whispered, "identify."

Med Sviga Lævi  
Durability: 210/350. Attack 430-490.  
This sword has existed longer than the universe. It is responsible for the destruction of the last universe and the one before it. This sword is destined to burn down Yggdrasil, the world tree. The fires will burn down the roots to every world and engulf the universe in flames. From the ashes the next world will be created, as this one was from the ashes of the last universe.  
Restriction:  
Giants Only  
Requirements:  
Level 550  
100% Fire Resistance  
Effects:  
This blade of this sword burns anything it cuts  
Fire from this sword cannot be put out  
Increases the force of blows  
All Stats +20%  
Strength +50%  
Agility +50%  
Command over Fire Giants given to wielder  
Grants skill Flames of Ragnarok

Crane shuddered at the realization of what he had just laid his hands on. He slowly climbed down the belt with his burnt hand and ran to the hole where the lava ran out of the tent. Before leaving he made sure to confirm it, he looked far above to the top of the giant's head to see if it had a name. It did, glowing red, the name Surtr floated above the fire giant's head.

When Crane left he saw that it was almost dawn, he had to get back to Keagan before first light or face the wrath of the fire giants. He snuck around the outer rim of the tent till he was away from the light of the lava stream and slowly ran back up the volcano side. He should have been more silent but terror was running down his body and it wouldn't let him slow down.

He was lucky and was able to get out of range of the fire giant's sight. He sat down and took a few deep breaths before thinking about what he saw. He didn't expect to see the stats of Surtr's blade but it was a fact that all other fire giant swords were a copy of it, it gave the best representation of Fehu's attributes. But why was a creature who should be in the deepest part of the darkest dungeon on Versailles chilling next to a volcano in the middle of the scorched plains?

After thinking it through the only thing that came to mind was that Surtr was there for him. Crane needed to learn the runes so when Crane received a quest to the area he activated some random event that allowed him to encounter Surtr and his sword outside of a dungeon. If this was true then that meant that Crane would encounter many more big figures from norse mythology as apart of his quest to master rune magic.

After pondering the attributes of the sword, Crane formulated his plan, and opened his whisper menu.

-Aurora, you there?

-Yes, I am with Keagan. Quite surprised you are alive.

-Thanks for the vote of confidence. Listen. Outside it is about Sunday, by Wednesday you have to get Jinir out of the volcano and far away. The find a good spot somewhere in the scorched plains and wait for me.

-Why? Are you going to do something crazy involving the fire giants?

-Yup. I figured out a way to get the fire spell I need, but it is dangerous. I doubt I will survive it, so you guys need to be far away. I'll do it wednesday morning, if I die then I'll log back in thursday and call Keagan to take me to where you guys are.

-If we can, shouldn't we just keep riding on your fire cat till we reach Donriel? Wouldn't that be the safest option?

-Quickest, yes, safest, no. Even after getting out of the frying pan we are still in the fire. This is a B rank quest, the lands between here and Donriel are unexplored, unknown. Anything could be there. Even if Keagan can sense what is around him, there are ways around that, it is not a foolproof safety method. Find a place to stay and wait.

-Ok, ok.

-

Do Hyup logged out of Royal Road and stretched. He was fairly busy this weekend, on friday he got a quest, on saturday he explored a city and meet some guildmates, and today he explored a prison, killed many people, and saw a legendary mythological figure. Of course he knew that all he had done this weekend would be eclipsed by his actions next weekend. Hyup went to sleep with many things on his mind.

-

Wednesday morning, 5am. Hyup woke up at the sound of his alarm and moved onto his wheelchair. He ate a poptart he placed on the nightstand the night before and moved into the capsule, he usually didn't do things like this before school, but this time he made an exception.

Crane opened up his whisper menu.

-You guys there?

-Yea, Aurora and I found some ruins about forty miles north of the volcano, Jinir fine as well.

-Good, how'd you get up the volcano side?

-Well, since I am TOO BIG to ride your pet up the side, I had to made stairs.

-Stairs?

-I pierced the wall with a piece of crystal, and made it grow into a step. Then a foot up I did it again, and again. Counting the time it took for my mana to regenerate it took me a whole day to get up there.

-Trust, me, there really wasn't a good alternative.

-Ya ya.

After confirming that Jinir and the party was safe, Crane started down the volcano into Surtr's tent. It was daytime so he didn't try to hid, just run as fast as he could. As soon as he entered he drew his sword and wrote Isa four times before calling, "Isa!" Crane fired the black ice wave into the lava, causing steam to rise from the pit. Crane wrote the rune again and called again.

At the sudden cooling of the lava Surtr woke up. "Who dares wake me? Show yourself!"

The low voice rumbled but the steam obstructed the giant's view for the other side of the lava pool. Surtr stood up, causing a twenty foot tall wave of lava to rise and wash towards Crane. He ran as fast as he could out of the way while writing more runes.

Crane had run around the steam allowing Surtr to see him, he bellowed, "Human! You shall pay for disturbing my sleep."

Crane had just finished writing thurisaz four times, he turned to face the giant and said, "Thurisaz!" The lightning bolt struck Surtr in the chest but it was less than nothing to him. The only thing Crane had successfully damaged was the monster's pride.

"You Dare?! I will Destroy you!"  
Crane stopped for the moment Surtr was getting out of the pool and used noble step, he yelled, "Catch me if you can you big lug!"

Crane then proceeded to use dash with each step as fast as he could out of the tent's entrance and back into the entrance to the volcano.

RRRRRRSHHHOOOMM

Crane didn't dare look back but it sounded like Surtr's fire proof tent erupted in flames. The ground shook with each step the giant made and Crane could tell he was gaining. The volcano entrance was only a hundred feet away, he had to make it inside.

"RAAAARRRRGGG!"

The yell resounded throughout the area, Crane ran faster than he knew was possible, only ten more feet.

"DIIIIIE!"

Crane jumped into the entrance, too small for the enormous giants and slide on the ground just as a wave of fire washed above his head, barely missing him.

Crane got up and turned around to face the small entrance. "Haha! You can't get me you big idiot!"

The plan had worked so far, now he just had to see if Surtr would go with it.

DMMMMM

The ground shook for a moment, Crane could see beyond the entrance that Surtr had plunged his sword into the earth. Crane sighed with relief. It had worked. Slowly the ground began to rumble, Crane opened up his whisper menu.

-Hey guys, go outside and look south.

-Ok, why?

-I'm about to die.

-Oh, ok.

The rumbling increased, the sword was burning the rock beneath it The fire spread under the volcano, heating up the great mountain more and more. A fire that wouldn't go out. Crane yelled, "Kenaz."

He concentrated to spread the effect of heat control over his whole body, he then unequipped his good items and re-equipped his prisoner's clothes. He had no confidence his clothes would survive what was about to come.

The ground below him rose a bit, the volcano was almost ready to burst. It was a gamble on his part, but Crane believed he could learn Fehu from a volcano. Just as he had to plunge his hands into a forge to learn the power of controlled fire, so to would he have to experience an erupting volcano to learn the power of uncontrollable fire.

One more great quake happened, and with it came a loud Crack sound. The next instant Crane was surrounded by fire and lava, "LEARN!"

You have learned the rune magic Fehu

Crane felt his entire body fill with heat, but not from the outside, it was like his body was matching the volcano's temperature. Crane was now aware that a great deal of force was being pushed on his body, but a moment later Crane was weightless. The lava fell around him and he saw that he was several miles in the air, the act of learning fehu probably gave him a one time immunity to the lava around him, but that didn't mean he would survive the fall. Crane concentrated on slow moving ice and yelled, "Isa!" For a moment Crane was slowed down but the next moment he was falling as fast as ever. He was still coated in the after effects of learning fehu which allowed him to survive the eruption and the fact that he was surrounded by lava, but fehu and isa were polar opposites, as long as he was in a state he could survive the lava he could not slow himself to survive the fall. Not that it mattered that much to him, he never planned on surviving the volcanic eruption in the first place. Even if he did, Surtr would likely find and kill him. Crane took the time to appreciate the view from on high. Since it was daytime he could see for miles in every direction. Even the scorched plains looked amazing from the air, but the view quickly disappeared as he became surrounded by ash and smoke as he fell.

-Crane! You still there?!

Aurora's voice came through well considering how loud the wind was against his ears.

-Yea, I got erupted. By learning the fire magic I was able to survive it, but the ground is coming back pretty quick, see you tomorrow afternoon.

-Wait, what?! You survi-

Do Hyup got out of his capsule, it had been only a few minutes since getting in. When he got off school tomorrow he would be able to log back in. He could only hope that the prince didn't kick the bucket before he logged back on.

-

Thursday afternoon, Do Hyup was eating dinner with his mother while watching television. It was a program that came out a month ago that gave news reports of royal road.

-Earlier today, ash started spreading over the continent. Source say this was due to the eruption of an active volcano in a remote southern region known as the Scorched plains. We have here today an expert on how meteorological events impact royal road. So, what can we expect from this?

-Well, an increase in monster activities over the continent for starters. All monsters receive a 50% buff at night, but during ash cover they will receive a 20% buff during the day until the ash is gone. This will have an enormous impact on military affairs. Each kingdom will have to dispatch more soldiers to deal with the rise in monster activity, thus weakening their internal security.

-Could this result in war?

-It very well could, we can only wait and see.

After the show, Hyup did his business in the bathroom, attached a charged battery pack to his muscle stimulators, and got into his capsule.

-

The first thing he did upon logging in was check his stats. This wasn't the first time he died of course. After leaving Yarsan and exploring the wilderness he died several times from monster ambushes Keagan couldn't detect, falling to his death after trying to climb over a mountain, making a mistake while brewing potions that caused either an explosion or potion gas eruption, and of course the most frequent cause of death was experimenting with uses for runes that resulted in overloading explosions half the time.

Crane's level was now at 186 and most of his skills progression had dropped by about 7%.  
"Show Rune Magic Skill Window."

Rune Magic [5] 56%  
Can use learned runes to perform rune based spells and skills  
Original Power Determined by wisdom

Fehu, f, 1  
Mana cost: 235

Thurisaz, th, 3  
Mana cost: 95

Kenaz, k, 6  
Mana cost: 95 to activate, 6 per degree increased over room temperature per unit volume, 1 per degree maintained over room temperature per minute per unit volume

Isa, i, 11  
Mana cost: 143

He had indeed learned the rune magic he came for, now he just needed to get the prince out alive. Crane opened his whisper menu.

-You guys there?

No answer. Crane opened his quest menu to ensure the worst had not befallen them. The quest was still 'In Progress' meaning that Jinir was still alive.

-You guys had better answer me.

Still nothing. Crane got out the necklace that Keagan's life force was sealed in, but was surprised to find it glowing. That meant that Keagan was inside it, in the time Crane was logged out, his fire cat had died. "Call Keagan."

Through a pillar of golden light the fire cat appeared. "What happened, how did you die?"

The great beast looked down with what appeared to be shame. "Attacked from all sides. Saw it coming, could do nothing to stop it."

"Attacked from what, please tell me everything."

"Hm. Mountain exploded, sky blackened. Later, strange beings came. Skin as tough as bone, some could fly, I ran with three on my back. I could not outrun the flying ones. Was attacked from above, elf tried to help, her arrows bounced off bone skin of fliers. They through bone spears, many pierced me, i died."

Titan and Aurora were either dead, or captured. Meaning they went from one prison to another. "Take me there." Crane re-equipped his good items and threw away the burnt rags he wore through the erupption and jumped on Keagan's back. The fire cat ran at his highest speed north, Crane had to get his party out of prison before they were killed.

After about four hours of running, Keagan slowed down to a stop and looked up. "Flier, there. If he sees us, he will call friends, will be surrounded."

Crane looked up and saw a small greyish dot high is the sky, it was probably just at the limits of Keagan's senses. Crane looked around the area for options. Barren land and a dead tree, a few rocks. "Ok, Keagan, return to the necklace."

The fire cat nodded, turned into a golden light and faded away. The necklace was glowing again. Crane walked up to the dead tree, held out his hand and said, "Fehu."

A stream of fire exploded out of his hand in all directions. The tree was now on fire, but so was Crane.

You are on fire, your health will decline.

Crane sighed for a moment. Using 'uncontrollable fire' wasn't so easy. "Kenaz." Crane tried to moved the flames away from his body to the tree, he was no longer on fire, but was still smoldering. Crane ran to a nearby rock and hid behind it. A flaming tree should at least attract the attention of the flying scout. A few minutes later it came down. Demon was the only word to describe it. It looked to be wearing spiked armor made of bone, Crane couldn't tell if it was natural or equipment. The only part that seemed unnatural was the face, it's spiked bony form matched the horns of the head and the rest of the body, but it appeared to be a mask. When it landed, the wings retracted into its back. It walked up to the tree, then started searching the area.

"Hello!"

Crane popped out from behind the rock and the demon turned to face him. One of the bony protuberances on its shoulder stuck out, the demon grabbed it and pulled it right off its arm, along with a line of other bony parts. What first looked like a bunch of scales loosely linked together reformed itself into a sword, a sharp one at that with the original shoulder spike acting as the hilt.

Crane walked up to the demon without aggression, he used battle aura and gave himself the presence of a child so as not to arouse acts of aggression. Crane didn't know how strong this demon was or anything about it, he needed information before he fought.

In a voice like a wheezing growl the demon spoke beneath its mask, "You trespass on our land. Where have you come from?"

Crane had no problems with give and take. "I came from a fortress surrounded by fire giants in the south. Several people came ahead of me, you know where there are?"

"You with them? Trespassers held in Delg's deep. You join them."

"Sure, where is Delg's deep?"

The demon took another good look at Crane and raised his bone blade. It seemed that perception did little if he was wearing equipment with high level requirements, the demon was no longer fooled.

Crane whipped his hand, sliding the concealed knife into his palm, though still hidden from view. "Where is Delg's deep?.."

The demon swung its weapon with great speed and force, Crane jumped back while throwing his knife, but it bounced off the spiked bone covering the creature.

"RWAARRG!"

The demon growled, an instant later six large bone spikes several feet in length and a skin like fabric grew between them. The demon's wings flapped twice before carrying the demon into the air. Crane didn't know if it was escaping or going to call for backup but Crane didn't wait to find out, he rose his hand and yelled, "Thurisaz!" The bolt of lightning shot out but missed. Crane had never aimed at a moving, flying target before. "Thurisaz! Thurisaz!" The second shot grazed the wing, just enough to drop it to the ground. It fell with a heavy thump, Crane could sympathize.

Crane ran over to check but it had already gotten up, the demon's armor wasn't just for show, it had an outstanding resilience. But no creature was truly invulnerable. Crane imagined using thurisaz as the point of a sword, to direct damage that had no direction, he raised his hand and said, "Thurisaz Fehu!" A pillar of fire erupted from Crane's hand and struck the demon head on, it was completely ablaze. However the creature still ran at Crane sword raised, it had no intention of going down without a fight.

By this time Crane had equipped his rapier and taken his majestic stance. The demon swung at Crane with a flurry of powerful blows, but one of the effects of being burned it that strength and attack power are diminished. Crane was able to overcome the ignited fighter and sent it to its knees.

"Where is Delg's Deep?"

The creature looked at Crane through it mask, it had piercing red eyes. "Northeast."

The flames extinguished themselves and the demon fell down dead. Upon its death it had dropped its mask. Crane examined the body thoroughly. The bone armor that appeared natural came off the body like velcro. The pieces also assembled themselves into various tools and weapons when connected. The demons wore an armory that acted as armor when not in use. Crane tried to wear it himself to disguise himself as a demon but it did not latch to him like it seemed to do for the demon. The only thing that looked equipable was the mask. "Identify."

Vordhu Scout Mask  
Durability: 40/60.  
Defense: 15.  
Facial mask of a male Vordhu scout. Each mask is unique to its owner, no two are alike.  
Restrictions:  
Vordhu only

Effects:  
+10% Fighting Spirit  
+10% Insight  
+10 Resilience

Crane had never heard of Vordhu, but that was probably because all those who had before were dead. This race had an absurdly high defense, most of the damage it had taken was from the fall and Crane's magic, his rapier did almost nothing to it. If Aurora had know this she probably wouldn't have fired normal arrows at them.

Crane finished his examination of the Vordhu, beneath the parts of bone armor that were removable, and not all of it was, was a humanoid figure with dark red skin and an almost human face. However with two large horns that protruded from his skull it looked like a devil. "Call Keagan."

Keagan appeared and walked up to the dead demon. Crane said, "Physical attacks don't have that much effect, but setting them on fire works." Keagan nodded and Crane jumped onto his back. "Look for a city or something northeast of here." And with that they were off.

Another three times they came across flying Vordhu scouts. Crane attracted them without raising alarms, and shot them down with a directed fire blast. Crane was actually surprised how much damage his spells did to the Vordhu. Judging from the life he lost when casting Fehu backfired, his fire spell was at a level a little above a novice fire mage, but it still did great damage to the demons. It wasn't that they were weak to fire, he tried lightning and ice as well and found that they were vulnerable to magic in general. Crane had already stored his rapier and taken out the mage staff he found in the magic vault back at Yarsan. Every time he killed a Vordhu it mask would always drop, Crane collected each with the intention of comparing them later.

After about four hours of killing scouts and running Keagan said, "Many Vordhu ahead." Crane got off his back and without saying anything Keagan returned to the necklace. It was almost dusk so Crane found a good spot and hid himself until it got dark. When it did Crane snuck into what appeared to be the ruins of a muspelheim city. If it was Crane could guess where the holding areas would be, but first he needed a disguise. Crane couldn't wear the Vordhu mask, it was fitted to their face which was too different for Crane to wear and go unnoticed, but he did find some dry grey wood earlier that he could carve into his own mask. Crane found a rooftop near a well lit alley with many of the Vordhu walking through, all wearing masks. Crane did what he could to remember the differences between masks of younger and older Vordhu, Crane had to carve one that matched his size, which was about that of a young male. When he was satisfied he got started, he took out the three pieces of wood and his carving knife. Two of the pieces he carved into horns, short but wide at the bottom, appropriate for a Vordhu of his size. Next the mask itself. Crane took out the others he collected and added features they had to the mask while adding features of other masks he saw the young wear as well.

Fine Piece: You completed Vordhu Mask  
Art is not always about beauty, this piece reflects a form that inspired fear in those who see its face.  
Artistic Value: 5  
Effects:  
Gazing at the Vordhu Mask will decrease Fighting Spirit by 25% for non-Vordhu for a day.  
The effect does not overlap with another statue.  
Number of Fine Pieces Created:4

Crane had made a few fine pieces when carving masks before, each one was unique among all the one he had made. However Crane never sculpted for beauty or looks, because of this he had never received the stat know as Art, the crucial stat for the sculptor class. Without Art, the Art of his pieces was always less than 10, focusing more on details than beauty.

Crane attached the horns to the mask and strapped it to his head. He put his hands in his sleeves and jumped down to the street. Crane waited for a few Vordhu to walk past him as a test his mask, none of them looked twice. From there Crane walked to the other end of the ruins to where he guessed the prisoners would be held. The scouts who flew wore no armor but many of the vordhu in the ruins did, as long as the only thing they saw was Crane's mask and horns he wouldn't stand out.

The cells would be in an underground bunker type area with one way access, Crane would have to get to the cells and somehow deal every every demon inside without raising an alarm. Crane got out some paper and a brush to write talismans with. He made ten of them, three Isa runes a piece. Crane walked into the entrance, three vordhu were standing guard over a staircase that lead down into a basement.

"You don't belong here young one, leave." The largest vordhu walked up to Crane as Crane reached up to place a talisman on the demon.

"Wha-" The instant it made contact the vordhu froze into a block of ice. With two more talismans he ran up to the other two guards and did the same before they could make a sound. Breaking the ice wouldn't kill them, only make a large amount of sound, Crane's best option was to get in and out as fast as he could.

Crane walked down the stairs to the holding cells as quietly as he could. There he saw his party in the cells together with several Vordhu. Titan was strapped to a wall in chains, but Aurora and Jinir were encased in mananite. Crane guessed Titan did it to protect them, he really was one hell of a bodyguard. Two Vordhu were at a table that had fragments of the mananite on it, as well as the pieces of bone armor. He could only guess, but he was pretty sure they were trying to incorporate the growing crystal into their armor. Maybe that is all the race was, an entire race of beings that evolved from the stolen parts of other beings. If so that would explain their high physical defense and lack of magic resistance. If they never fought anything that used magic then they would have no need of magic resistance. But, that would change if they were successful in fusing mananite into their armor. Armor that grew when it blocked mana that could be taken off and used as a weapon. Crane was almost tempted to let them have it, but they would only be successful if they had someone with the skill Crystal form Creation to show them how to do it, and Crane needed Titan.

Crane walked up behind the two at the table and iced them both. The sound of the freezing ice got the attention of the Vordhu inside the cell. Crane ran inside and was able to tag one with a talisman before it drew its Shoulder Blade, but the other two were now armed and on the defense after having seen what Crane could do when he got close. Crane took a knee and stuck the talisman on the floor then jumped back before a layer of ice spread out. The ice was thin but slick, Crane then jumped forward onto the ice and slide under the Vordhu's weapons and tagged them both before standing up in front of Titan.

"Miss me?" Titan who had watched the Vordhu mask wearing Crane freeze the others rolled his eyes at the realization and said, "Just get me out of here."

Crane nodded and said, "Kenaz, " before bringing his hands up to the lock that held him in place. It took about ten seconds to melt but the heat didn't transfer through the metal so it didn't harm Titan. Titan broke the crystal encasing Jinir and Aurora who both seemed relieved to see Crane.

Aurora said, "Nice mask, go any spares?"

Crane took off the carving and said, "No, finding wood is pretty hard around these parts."

Aurora sighed, "These guys like to study. They were very interested in my bow, Jinir's shadow skill and especially Titan's crystals."

Crane nodded, "I think it is a composite race, they take pieces of others to made them stronger. They have insane defense, but no magic resistance, give me all the arrows you have."

She got his meaning, he took out large stack of paper and she gave him about a hundred and twenty arrows. To half he added a talisman marked with the Fehu rune, and the other half Isa. The fehu arrows would likely explode on contact but with a ranger's aim they were more accurate than Crane's casting, less personal danger as well. Though it cost him about 2500 max mana. It took about thirty minutes with Aurora and Titan helping wrap each talisman around every arrow.

"This should be enough to get us out of here, but don't let loose the fire arrows at anything close by."

Titan spoke up, "Then how are we going to fight the ones that get close? My weapons can't do much against that armor."

Crane got out another large stack of paper. "The same way I dealt with these guys. I can't mass produce talismans that will popsicle guys outright but I can make enough that will slow down who ever gets close." Crane produced another sixty talismans with two Isa runes on each and gave thirty to Titan and Jinir. The iced Vordhus were cracking, they would be free in a few minutes meaning Crane didn't have anymore time to make more.

"Lets go." Crane put the mask back on and lead the way upstairs. The two were almost free so Crane said, "Aurora, shoot one of them with an arrow, everyone else, back up." Aurora readied and arrow and drew her bow, she didn't know what to expect but let the arrow loose.

It struck the ice and for a moment nothing happened, then a sizzling sound, then.

CRRKBOOOOMMMM

The ice shattered in an explosion, the shards also destroyed and killed both the Vordhu inside and the Vordhu beside him. "And that is what happens when you mix fire and ice. The fire melts the ice and turns the water into steam, something that takes up a thousand times more volume than ice. The change is so rapid it causes an explosion. Something to consider as we leave."

Crane lead the group outside and said, "Call Keagan."

Everyone jumped on as soon as he appeared and immediately ran north, it attracted a lot of attention but there was no way to avoid that. It took less than a minute before winged Vordhu were in pursuit. After watching luring and killing several Crane felt he understood them better, the scorched plains were hot, the latent heat produced rising air currents all over the place allowing the scouts to glide indefinitely, but only if they were able to get the air currents. After figuring this out Crane and Keagan would run through areas with cooler grounds, places where the scouts could not glide forever. But there were no such places here, they could only run for now.

Aurora drew her bow but Crane turned back and said, "Not yet, they don't know we can use magic yet, save your arrows for anything that tries to attack us."

"But if I don't kill them they will give away our position! That is what happened last time."

Crane smiled, "I'm counting on that."

For another hour Keagan ran, not sprinted, just ran. The point wasn't to escape, it was to draw as many scouts as close as possible. After Crane was satisfied enough had shown up he patted Keagan's back. The fire cat then slowed down for a few minutes then collapsed down.

Titan said, "What's going on? He didn't get tired out this fast last time!"

"He's faking it, Aurora, you ready?"

"Just give me the word." Aurora had a bow in one hand and three arrows in the other, ready to fire when Crane gave the signal. Crane surveyed the area, all the scouts were converging on their location, about twenty five in all. Crane expected that four times that number of ground troops would be there soon, that is what Keagan described as happening the last time.

When Crane saw a small group of the first ground soldier approaching he said, "Now Aurora."

An instant later she slide three arrows into her bow, spoke a chant in elvish, and let them fly. All three hit the mark, but the arrows caused an explosion twice the size of what happened when he used it himself, Aurora seemed to have added fire spirits to her arrows as well, and the effects stacked nicely. Before even confirming the hits Aurora notched three more arrows and faced the other direction. After a small chant she released them and notched three more arrows. In a matter of fifteen seconds she had shot twelve scouts down. The remaining scouts turned to fly away but Aurora was able to get six more before she had to start shooting one at a time for precision. Before the ground troops could touch them Aurora had killed all the scouts. But that was only the beginning. About one hundred troops spread across a dozen groups were approaching from all directions. Aurora wasn't done though, she shot two Isa arrows into a pair of demons in the front of the largest group then immediately shot two fehu arrows without adding a chant. The arrows first caused a thin layer of ice a few inches thick to cover the targeted demons but before it had spread over their whole body the fehu arrows struck and a moment later the pair exploded. The explosion damaged the entire front line of the group, killing at least five.

"I've already gained a level from this, might want to come back here someday." Aurora's long distance attacks combined with Crane's talismans basically gave her the damage dealing capacity of a mage without the casting time. This type of battle was highly unusual for royal road.

Crane and Titan both ran out to the other groups, Crane ran as fast as he could at a Vordhu that had already raised his sword to strike Crane. Crane performed the step that Aurora had shown him, step to the left, cross over your step, the duck to the right. The step fooled the vordhu and Crane placed a talisman on its back before running to the back of the crowd. When the others around him turned their backs Aurora shot a fire spirit enhanced fehu arrow at the vordhu Crane iced, causing a powerful explosion. Crane then took out his knife and sliced the vulnerable parts of the disoriented vordhu before they knew what had happened. Crane saw that Titan was using a similar tactic, ice a vordhu, run away, let Aurora explode it then deal with the stunned survivors.

Jinir was sticking close to Aurora both for her protection and for his own. He made what seemed to be a cord of some sorts out of his shadow and used it to grab vordhu and throw them into each other like a fail and chain. Since the vordhu used their own bodies as weapons why not let someone else use them as weapons?

Halfway through the battle when the shock and awe tactics of the rune arrows was wearing off Crane called Keagan who immediately engulfed himself in an inferno before charging into the vordhu. This worked to further weaken enemy moral to the point Aurora and Keagan were eventually left with the task of picking off strays who were running away.

Crane started picking up the vordhu masks, he couldn't use them but he could carve replicas for others to use, or maybe sell it to some rich schmuck as exotic art pieces. He had also gained two levels throughout the fight. The vordhu averaged about level 230~250, but their weakness to magic and Crane's own tactics brought them down. Unfortunately this was only a tactic that would work a single time, once word got around what happened the rest would not be affected so easily.

"It's time to move, we've probably killed every scout between here and Donriel."

The group got onto Keagan and ran north for the mountains that bordered Donriel and the scorched plains. It took eighteen hours to get there at which point they made camp for the night.

Around the camp fire Titan said, "So Jinir, how's it feel to know you're going home tomorrow?"

Jinir silently looked into the flames for a minute before answering. "I can't say good. I only know that I feel I must take back what's mine."

Crane smiled and said, "Well then, I have a story to tell. It is about your ancestor, Toleborren Gold. Before the Muspelheim kingdom was created, this entire area was the domain of a monster by the name of Doleax. It was lion coated in fire, similar to Keagan, except this guy was the size of a mountain and meaner than a dragon. A group of the most powerful warriors in the continent banded together to fight Doleax, but all were killed. Legend says that one day, Doleax destroyed a small village, so small in fact it was not even on the map, the only survivor of that village was a small boy named Keslon. Although he didn't die, he did disappear that day. It was never recorded what he did or where he went but he returned twenty years later to face Doleax. And on that day he won. Not a single person witnessed the battle so no one really knows what happened but Doleax was surely dead. Over the next five years Keslon united the people under him and formed a kingdom in what had been Doleax's territory. and after that he conquered the nearby kingdoms and created the Muspelheim empire, all within his own lifetime. Before he died he in trusted the crown to his son and the conquered kingdoms within his domain to those were loyal to his family."  
Jinir asked, "Do you know how he defeated Doleax?"

Crane smiled and looked behind Jinir to the man's shadow. "No, but I can guess. There are no records of that ability which means it was either kept secret or perhaps lost entirely, until now anyways."

Jinir gave a small smile and Crane continued his story. "A few hundred years ago every volcano in the mountain range within the Muspelheim empire erupted, but truly this was not the actual fall of Muspelheim. When your ancestor sent his troops to ward off the invading monsters that had come through the borders the descendants of the people Keslon had in trusted the conquered kingdoms to revolted and declared independence, your ancestor had two choices, to let the monsters through and send his troops back to stop the revolts or keep his soldiers there to hold the lines and let it happen. He was successful in holding the lines, the fire monsters only control this small area of scorched earth and rock while the people were protected and kept safe. After the fire war he had lost so many troops your ancestor could not retake the kingdoms so he had no choice but to leave them. Ever since then the remnants of the Muspelheim empire have been constantly at war with one another over dominance, even to this day."

- Why are you telling him this?

Aurora whispered to him so that Jinir would not overhear.

Crane answered her.  
- I want him to take action. I have many things I need to do in these kingdoms but I cannot as long as their current rulers stay in power, I need Jinir to change that.

- I see, so that is what this has all been about...

- Don't underestimate this, many will die but the after effects will be well worth it.

- Do you really think he can unite these kingdoms? I mean he is only one man.

Crane smiled before whispering.  
- So was his ancestor. I wouldn't have gotten him out if I didn't think he could do it. Don't worry, you'll have your proof tomorrow.

At morning the next day the group climbed the mountain assisted by Keagan. The mountain was home to several nests of Harpies, but this only gave something for Aurora to spend the rest of Crane's arrows on.

Six hours on Keagan's back after crossing the mountain the group arrived in Welsho, the capital city of Donriel kingdom. There the party took Jinir to the local guild base.

Crane walked up to the woman at the counter and said, "Hello, my name is Crane and our party has arrived."

The woman said after a moment, "Was your quest successful?"

Crane pointed to Jinir who waved at the woman who smiled in return.

Ding*

Quest Completed: Retrieve the Prince from Purgatory  
You have successfully delivered the prince.  
Difficulty: B  
Reward: 13,254 Gold, 835 Rep Points  
You have leveled up!  
You have leveled up!  
You have leveled up!  
You have leveled up!  
You have leveled up!

Crane had gotten more than half the gold and rep points, it seemed that Keagan's contribution was likely given to him as well, or most of it would probably go to the fire cat.

Crane turned to Aurora and Titan, "You guys satisfied with what you got?"

Aurora nodded, "Yea, I got four levels and quite a bit of gold and points. Not bad for a week's work."

Titan nodded in agreement, "I can't believe we actually did a B rank quest so quickly, you ever need a hand just give me a call."

"Me too." Aurora and Titan both registered to be Crane's friends, Crane didn't mind, they were easy to work with and they did in fact 'match his own traits.'

Jinir who had been talking to the woman at the counter came back to the trio and said, "I'll be taking the throne back tomorrow, I would like it if all three of you could be there. Will you stay around for another day?"

Crane smiled and said, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

-

Crane spent the rest of the day exploring the city, he was even about to sell the Vordhu masks to a collector as his information about them to the guild for a few more guild points. After doing so he checked his guild menu

Guild: Dark Djinns

Status-Active Member

Reputation points-1795

Alignment-Neutral

Rank- 41th

His membership had been upgraded due to the successful high class mission. Crane was now considered reliable and would receive quests more often. He still wasn't sure what to do with the guild points but he would probably think of something later.

Crane, Aurora, and Titan, dressed in regal attire gifted to them by one of Jinir's new servants walked up to the castle gates with a nobleman escort. At the gate he said, "His highness King Daxes is expecting them." This was a lie of course, Jinir's uncle had no idea that the rightful heir to the throne was going to show up today and Crane and the others were just there to watch.

Crane and the others were lead to the throne before the king where they stood.

Daxes waited only a heartbeat before saying in the most vile of tones, "Why do these three not kneel before the king.."

"Because you are not truly the king!" From the other end of the hall came seven noblemen, likely the ones who had hired the Dark Djinns to recover their prince.

The man continued. " Twenty years ago the king died, and since that day an imposter has sat on his throne."

Daxes got up and said, "I am the King! It is by right that the closest to the King's blood inherits the throne! Guards, seized these traitors!"

The guards moved for a moment before the man continued, "You are not the closest to the king's blood! His son is the one who inherited that throne, not you."

"The king's son is dead! He has not been seen since his father died. If I am not your king, then that boy must present himself, Now!"

From the side of the throne casually strolled Jinir, no, Herios Goldking VI. When he made his entrance, he stood beneath a portrait of his father, only a fool would not be able to tell that Jinir was his father's son.

Just to add to the mood, Crane faced Jinir and knelt down, a moment later so did Aurora and Titan, then all seven of the noblemen, and after that every person in the room save one.

Daxes seemed to have trouble breathing let alone speaking. He looked like a spoiled child who had been told his favorite toy was about to be taken away. He gave a look of pleading that said, 'please don't let this be real.'

Jinir spoke in a calm quiet tone but was nevertheless heard throughout the room, "Take my uncle to the dungeon, I will see to him later."

The guards stepped up to obey his command and took the man who was now sobbing and pleading away. Jinir sat on his throne and said, "Crane, Titan, Aurora, please rise."

The trio stood up and Crane smiled at the new king, though he tried not to think about the fate that awaited his uncle.

"For what you have done I can never repay you, so I shall grant each of you a title. Not a title that comes with responsibilities like that of a nobleman, captain, or lord, but a title that gives you all the power I have can legally give as king of Donriel. The title of Free Sovereign of Donriel."

Title Acquired: Free Sovereign of Donriel  
Grants free access to up to twenty troops from the military.  
Can give commands to any military personnel of Donriel Kingdom during a battle  
Can purchase items in Donriel Kingdom with up to a 25% discount  
Can purchase a house or land in Donriel Kingdom with a 55% discount  
Fame increased by 250

It was probably a title he made up but Crane didn't mind, this was an unexpected gift that opened up many options for the future.

Jinir said, "I hope I will be able to request your assistance again in the future, and of course the assistance of the Dark Djinns. There is much work to be done."

Crane smiled, much work indeed.


	15. Vol2 Chapter5 The Worth of Training

Volume 2 Chapter 5

The Worth of Training

After Jinir's coronation ceremony, Crane was called by one of the attendants to follow him downstairs where he was asked to wait in a large stone room. Crane guessed from the interior walls and the thick door in the back that he was in the guard room near the entrance to the castle's dungeon. Crane did what had become a habit when he had to wait and took out his carving knife and some wood, but no sooner had he made his first cut did the door open revealing a long line of nervous looking noblemen. The first passed through the room and into the dungeon followed by the rest. Crane counted a few dozen entering before Jinir came through the door at the tail end of the group.

Crane had a flashback of when he lead a group of monsters to kill a large number of noblemen underground and vaguely wondered if he would see a repeat show. Jinir said to Crane, "Follow me, I want to speak with you afterwards." At least Crane wouldn't be apart of the massacre should there be one.

Within the dungeon was a room large enough to accommodate all the noblemen Jinir had called with some room to spare. The men talked amongst themselves about what was going on, none of them seemed to have any ideas. Crane saw that the seven noblemen who hired the Dark Djinns to rescue Jinir were also there but they too seemed clueless as to what was going on as well.

Jinir appeared from a hallway dragging in chains the man who, only a day before, was the ruler of the kingdom, Daxes. Jinir threw him before the noblemen and said, "I am going to interrogate my uncle on all the deeds he misused the power of the throne for. But before I do so I will give you men a chance. Anyone who has done something to shame their office can admit to doing so now by stepping forward."

Several people began twitching nervously. One of the men who was sweating the most consciously stepped forward. Jinir show no hostility, which prompted a few more to step forward. After a few minutes, it seemed like no one else would step forward, so Jinir continued speaking. "I see." However against everyone expectations, Jinir suddenly whipped his arm out at his uncle. Crane saw the instant extension and retraction of his shadow in the motion. The next moment, Daxes's whimpering stopped, and his head fell to the ground.

Jinir continued, "Truth be told I do not care what any of you have done before this point. That means nothing to me. I grew up in a prison and have done things far worse than most of you just to survive. I don't expect perfection. That being said, I will not accept deception or insubordination. From this point on you men will only be punished under two conditions, if you disobey my order, or try to deceive me. If you do something unbefitting of your position, do not try to hide it. If I disapprove, I shall order you to stop. That is all. You are dismissed back to your posts."

The nobles slowly walked around the body headless body of their former king, blood still dripping from his neck throughout Jinir's speech. They dared not speak until they were sure Jinir was out of earshot.

Crane walked up to Jinir and said, "Effective. I didn't think a person could make ruling a kingdom so simple."

Corruption and conspiracy within were some of the most dangerous components within a kingdom. But Jinir basically said nothing was illegal until he said it was except for hiding what you were doing. In such a system, blackmail threats of the past were useless since even if someone did something illegal in the past, the king didn't care so the threat of revealing such a thing was useless. In fact any who were controlled through blackmail could bring his deeds t the king himself and get off with a 'don't do it again.'  
Both corruption and conspiracy would be rendered useless, if the nobles obey the honesty policy then Jinir would know what they were up to and if they didn't then Jinir's newly acquired lie detection skill would see through them.

In a single meeting he removed all the challenges brought forth from being a king.

Jinir said, "I thought you would approve. Now, I need to know what you intend to do."

What a single user does should have no consequence to a king but Jinir understood the reach that this user's plans had. Should Crane's plans interfere with Jinir's own, it would be in Jinir's best interest that Crane never left the dungeon.

Knowing that lying was pointless Crane said, "Well, I want to gain access to the Mordin Shrine, the forest of Gorfil, the temple of Resshin, the island of Ur, the cave of Sartiel, and the Dorack mountain range. For starters."

Now Jinir seemed dumbstruck. At each of the locations was a either a method to make Crane stronger or possibly a new rune to discover, but Jinir had no way to know that. Jinir had in fact been expecting a far more impressive goal considering how much effort was put into reaching it.

After a moment Jinir said, "Most of those are places that an outsider would never be allowed to enter. All of them however are in kingdoms that were once part of the Muspelheim empire. You mean that you took the effort to make me king so that I would reclaim these kingdoms and then allow you access to these places once they were under my control?..."

Crane smiled and said, "That about sums it up. My first stop was going to be the Resshin temple."

The Resshin temple was built on the northern mountain range but had been closed by the late King Daxes. It was however one of the few places Crane listed that he could access immediately within the kingdom should it be re-opened.

Jinir nodded and said, "Very well, but take some men with you. I have some tasks that require a small team of skilled soldiers and my uncle left the military in a poor state. Take some men and train them the best you can, and I'll give you the quests as the head of the team."

Crane answered, "Alright, but I want to pick them out myself from your army. It would be easiest if you could get them all to one spot so I can talk to them."

Jinir said, "I can have a general arrange it that all the men show up tomorrow and arrange a time for you to pick them out. We have 1700 soldiers, about 400 can be taken out from any position without trouble. You will have to chose from these. How long will it take you to pick amongst them? They can't stay there all day."

Crane smiled and said, "Don't worry, it won't take long."

After buying a large amount of hard wood, Crane go to work carving. The method of training he thought of required wooden weapons and Crane wanted a large variety. 

You have learned new Skill: Weapon Carving

Crane had carved wooden knives before but he had never made so many wooden weapons at once and had received a skill for it. "Open Skill Window: Weapon Carving." 

Weapon Carving [1] 0%  
Weapons carved out of wood are stronger and more resilient.

After thinking about it for a moment Crane scrapped the wooden weapons he had and made new ones. He was pleased to see the stats of his wooden weapons now had a higher durability and slightly higher attack. After making a large set of wood weapons he forged three steel weapons and carved runes into each. Now he was ready to sort out the soldiers.

The next day Crane was brought to a stage overlooking the training grounds where a square of twenty rows of twenty soldiers stood in formation. Crane took out six weapons of the weapons he made the previous night and placed them upright on the stage where they could easily been seen. As both a wooden weapon and rune engraved composite steel weapon Crane had on both sides of him a hand axe, long sword, and broadsword.

He placed the three steel rune weapons to his left and the three wooden weapons to his right. Then he said in a voice that echoed all the way to the back, "I will take some of you and make you stronger. How you become stronger is up to you. Under my command you can train with a weapon like this," he picked up the longsword with four Thurisaz runes carved into it, "a weapon that has magic applied to it making it stronger. If you fight with it you will kill monsters quickly and raise your level faster." Crane even swung the sword which sent a thunder wave out above the heads of the soldiers causing some excitement at the idea of possessing the sword. Crane then put it down and picked up the carved wooden sword and said, "Or you can train with this, this wooden weapon will deal less damage than a regular sword so you will have to attack more often to kill an enemy, slowing your leveling speed but also increasing how much you raise your skill proficiency and overall weapon skill per level."

No one sounded very excited about training with a wooden weapon. Crane then said, "Those of you who wish to train with the enhanced weapons, exit to the wall on my left, those who wish to train with the wooden weapons, exit to the wall on my right."

Crane even pointed to each exit with the corresponding weapon. People were practically pushing eachother out of the way to leave through the exit to Crane's left. They wanted the power of the magic sword he showed them, and it made sense that to become stronger you raise your level. Crane waited a few minutes for the whole of the crowd to leave before walking to the right exit.

On the other side of the wall were a few people, Crane counted them up to find the number only reached seventeen.

Crane went up to the group and said, "Gratz, you guys all pass."

"Wait, what?" The exclamation came from behind Crane where he saw the general who had organized everything. the man continued, "What kind of selection was that? What is it these guys have that the others don't?"

Crane picked out one of the seventeen and said, "What's your name?"

"Clint," the aloof man answered.

"Well Clint, time to show your stuff, explain to the general why you choose to train with a wooden weapon over the supercharged magic weapon."

Clint took a deep breath, sighed, then took another and began speaking. "Well sir, against the same opponent with a wooden sword, you would have to attack several times without getting killed yourself to defeat an opponent. With that super weapon you could defeat an opponent with fewer hits and not worry so much about defending."

The general interrupted, "That is why it is obviously the better choice!"

Clint sighed again and said, "Yes sir, for fighting, but this is training. Imagine if someone trained against a monster that the super sword could defeat in two hits, but the wooden sword took ten hits to beat. Now imagine that someone trained against this monster for a month with the super sword, and someone else trained with the wooden sword for a month without dying."

Clint paused to make sure the thick general understood the scenario before he continued, again after a sigh, "Now imagine that the two guys were each given a normal sword and told to fight. The guy who trained with the super sword, the one used to killing his opponents easily would just swing his sword, the only thing he needed to do during his training. But the guy who trained with the wooden sword, who had a difficult time would have learned how to hit rapidly to accumulate damage faster and avoid attacks while attacking since he never killed anything with one hit. Now between these two, who would win?"

The answer was obvious however not everyone thought of training in the long term in such a way, in fact only seventeen out of four hundred of these soldiers did.

Crane said, "Thankyou general, give my regards to the other men and the king of course."

The man left without a word and Crane said to the group, "Before we start I want everyone to introduce yourselves and get to know one another."

Crane got out ten more wooden swords and ten other weapons.

"I want everyone to pick a weapon and a partner, Clint, since the number is odd you're with me." Clint sighed and Crane continued, "The weapon mastery you have up to this point is nothing compared to what you will gain during this training, therefore now is the best time to try out different weapons and see what you feel you work best with. I carved the weapons myself so if you would like some adjustments on the weapon you choose or had another idea for a weapon you wanted, just ask."

Clint sighed and walked over to the pile where he picked up a Bo staff before getting out of the way for the others to browse through the selection. Some quickly picked up swords but some were adventurous enough to pick up the tonfas, the wooden fists (like iron knuckles that cover the whole hand), the short paired short sticks, the wooden knives, the wooden hand axes, and the wooden mace. Crane himself was going to fight unarmed.

After seeing that everyone had a partner he said, "Alright, we will practice at an even pace for thirty minutes. For the first ten one will attack and the other defend, switch for the next ten and for the last ten free sparring. After which will be a ten minute break where you can choose a new weapon or keep the one you have. Decide who will attack and defend first then begin."

Crane looked at his lackluster opponent and said, "You attack first."

Clint sighed again and tried to sweep the bo staff at Crane with one hand. Crane took a step forward and tapped the center of the bo staff which caused its to bend towards Crane then whip backwards and right out of Clint's hand. Crane said, " The best way to use a large weapon is with small movements. Grab the stick at two point and think of three ways to deliver a strong attack using small quick movements, then practice them for five minutes. I'll check on the other guys."

The guys with swords, knives and axes were doing ok, most soldiers can figure out how to use them, but the two guys who took tonfas, the guy with the short (one meter in length) pair of sticks, and the guy with the the wooden knuckles didn't seem to have a knack for their weapons. Crane gave pointers to each. With a heavier fist the wooden knuckles were best with straight line punches, the tonfas uses at close range range were different from their uses at mid range, and the sticks required some minor footwork while striking that increased range and speed.

Crane went back to Clint who was practicing three distinct strikes. Clint tried a short thrust, quick low sweep, and a diagonal strike with the tip of the staff. Crane dodged in ways that showed small faults in Clint's technique he could improve on like retracting the thrust quickly before Crane caught it, aiming just above the knee on the low sweep instead of the foot, and twisting his hip on the diagonal strike to increase speed.

After five more minutes had passed Crane yelled, "Switch."

Crane then begun attacking Clint at a pace he could dodge while slowly increasing his speed. However Clint had no idea how to use the staff to defend without attacking. Crane asked for the staff so he could demonstrate basic blocking skills. Clint tried to punch Crane, but as he did, Crane aligned the edge of the staff with Clint's striking fist and bopped it while quickly rotating the staff with his wrist. When the edge of the staff made contact with Clint's wrist the spinning cause the punch to be deflected outward. Clint's lazy appearance broke for a moment. To someone who didn't know how much power rotation could impart on a technique, what he had just seen may have looked like magic. Crane showed him three moves that used a quick rotation to deflect attacks and had him practice it while Crane went around checking on the other guys.

The varied weapon practice kept up until everyone had chosen a weapon and Crane was satisfied with their capabilities with it. Crane was actually surprised that after practicing the defense skills, Clint stuck with the Bo staff and seemed a bit more lively. Just a bit.

When it was time for Crane to log out for lunch he brought everyone to a section with practice dummies and told them to practice until they got the mastery skill for their weapon. Once they had it they were to free spar until Crane's return, which he told them would be in a few hours.

After logging out, Do Hyup moved his legs out of the capsule where he placed himself on his wheelchair with the strength of his arms alone. His legs were slightly sore, a sign that the electric muscle stimulators had recently been active on them, contracting and releasing various muscle groups in his legs likely for the past hour. He checked his cell phone to see he had two new text messages, one from his mom, the other from his best friend

"Lunch is in the microwave when you get hungry."  
-Mom

"My capsule is coming in today, any pointers?"  
-Yoochun

It wasn't that his mother wasn't home, she was just in her room. Hyup found out only recently that the Unicorn company truck that came to install Crane's capsule had in fact installed a total of three capsules in his house. Crane had one in his room and his mother and father had one apiece in their room. In other words his parents had been playing Royal Road just as long as he had. When he asked why they never said anything his mom answered that they didn't want to seem like they were watching over him. Both his mom and dad started in the Kingdom of Haven so he had of course never ran into them. And while they answered questions he had of them, they refrained from asking him, satisfied with whatever he was willing to share with them.

Crane texted his mom- "Thankyou," she would read it when she next got out and he texted Yoochun- "You were born as yourself, in the game you can be something else, don't let the opportunity pass by."

The message had several meanings and Hyup wondered which Yoochun would take from it.

The microwave had some fried chicken, homemade by his mom with her own blend of spices. After microwaving it for thirty seconds they were steaming hot. He took took the food to his computer and logged onto a special website. His guild, the Dark Djinns, had a website which Crane was given a login ID and password to after becoming an Active member recently. His guild points, currently 1765, was displayed in the upper corner of the screen. From this site, Crane could chat on forums with other guild members, trade and sell information to other guild members, buy information from the guild with guild points, or sell information to the guild for guild points.

After first logging in he used a few points searching for info the guild had on runes. Rune spells, runes themselves, or locations that depict runes.

Several searches, (the searches themselves costing points) said that the guild had one available match, a single member of the guild with a rune related class who the guild would contact for you for a fee of 25 guild points.

Hyup was sure he knew who the person it was talking about was so he didn't bother.

Although the site didn't have much info for him to buy, there was still things he could sell. Hyup perused the listings for anything he might recognize. 

-Info needed on the lair of the Black Hydra  
-Location needed of the Temple of Joelerick  
-Introduction needed to the Sage Lorendo  
-Searching for information on the NPC, Claudius Silver.  
-Ancient language translator needed.  
-Contact info needed of a blacksmith who can make Mithril armor

That last one made Crane want to go further into blacksmithing, so on impulse alone he searched for blacksmithing skills and came upon a list of skills, relating to blacksmithing and a guild point price on each for info on how to learn the skills. 

Sharpening- 30  
Polishing- 30  
Mineral Refining-60  
Equipment Enhancement- 300

Crane knew that he would get Sharpening and Polishing as a skill when he got to intermediate but the other two he didn't recognize. He clicked on Mineral refining and accepted the 60 point charge in points. 

Mineral Refining:  
A skill used to refine ores by removing impurities, converting them into useful materials.  
It requires a deep understanding of fire, water, and metal.  
Obtained after refining two different types of ores.

Hyup almost smacked his head. The town he learned smithing in had only a iron mine around so although he was skilled in purification he had never refined anything other iron.

Crane clicked on Equipment Enhancement. 300 was a large amount but he didn't have anything else he wanted to use it on. 

Equipment Enhancement:  
The blacksmith's hand can draw out the hidden potential of equipment. After noticing various imperfections in equipment, they can be corrected.

Acquired at or after intermediate level blacksmithing is acquired after having made a large amount of different objects. Swords, axes, hammers, knives, steel pole arms and various types of armors must be made en masse to understand what works and what doesn't while blacksmithing.

Hyup nodded. The method to acquire it was not so much a secret as a training regimen but it was something to do. Now that Hyup had a small group he could use to test weapons he felt he would be able to achieve the prerequisite before he hit intermediate level blacksmithing. His finished his meal and put the plate in the dishwasher before heading back to his capsule.

Crane was pleased to see that all seventeen men were free sparring, meaning they had each acquired the mastery skill for their respective skills. Crane had them all line up and display it for him. Besides the guys with sword mastery who kept swords, the other guys had gotten their weapon mastery to about fifty percent of the first level. Crane needed one of the guys to switch to hammers and he needed Clint to try out some steel polearms if he wanted to get the Equipment enhancement skill when he hit intermediate blacksmithing. Crane told them all to get some rest and that the next day they would be heading out for extensive training.

After leaving the barracks the first thing Crane wanted to do was go to the local commodity exchange and buy 1500 gold worth of silver ore. He could have just bought silver ingots but he needed the experience purifying non-iron ores. The ore itself was cheap so he had been able to buy a massive volume of it but that was because all but the highest grade of silver ore yielded very low amounts of silver when smelting. He also bought a large amount of galena, a mineral crystal made silicon and lead, as well as bone ash, mortar powder, and more large cement crucibles. 

- Current weight has exceeded strength capacity.  
Penalty: 25% increase in stamina consumption rate.

Crane slowly trotted away from the exchange, his feet pressing hard into the ground with each step of his overencumbered soles searching for a open area.

After finding a spot Crane got out several piles of what appeared to be useless rocks, dust, and sand. The first thing he did was make a mold of clay for an ashtray shaped container called a cupel. Crane heated the clay with his Kenaz spell until it was solid. He then got out a bowl and filled it with bone ash, a bit of mortar, some water, and mixed them together. He then scooped it into the mold and heated it till the mortar dried and solidified it into a bone ash cupel.

Crane used all the bone ash to make about sixty cupels. After which he started with the silver. In a crucible the size of a coffee pot Crane put silver ore, charcoal dust, sand, and galena. After capping and sealing the rim with clay he heated it beyond the melting point of silver with Kenaz, and slightly shook it while keeping it heated for a minute. Crane then set it down and did the same thing with the same mixture in another crucible, doing so until he had used up every single crucible. 

Skill Level Up: Rune Call [5]

Skill Level Up: Rune Magic [6]

Because he used Rune call to use Kenaz's power the skill itself leveled up, as well as Rune magic in general which had been teetering since he got back from his quest. Crane was fortunate that silver melted at a much lower temperature than steel or it would have taken more time and more mana to bring each crucible to its melting point with Kenaz.

Crane then broke the first crucible which had cooled revealing a blackish mass with a shiny silvery bottom. The melted galena had broken into silicon and lead, the silicon from that and the sand bonded to the impurities, freeing the silver from it while the lead trickled down, bonding to the freed silver. The heavy lead silver mixture settled at the bottom where it cooled and Crane broke the excess slag off with a hammer revealing the button, the term used for the lead silver mixture remaining. Crane put the button on one of the cupels and heated it up carefully, making sure not to spill it after it melted. The bone ash combines with the liquid lead even better than silver, it slowly sucked up the lead until only pure silver remained. From the coffee pot sized crucible came only a pea sized lump of pure silver which Crane immediately dropped into a glass jar of oil. Pure silver, especially when hot, oxidizes with oxygen when solid so for now Crane would store them in oil until he decided what to do with it.

After having made enough silver pellets to fill his little jar, Crane got the long awaited message. 

You have learned new Skill: Mineral Refining

Crane finished refining all the buttons into pure silver before packing everything and leaving.

The next day Crane and his troop left the city. Crane had gotten enough iron and wood to make many weapons, and with his skills he would even be able to recycle broken or old equipment into new equipment, with only a small loss in total metal.

His men still had wooden weapons and for now, Crane would keep it like that. First he had to teach them how to fight, and the best way to do that was to get them massive amounts of fighting experience against something that couldn't easily kill them but couldn't easily be killed by wooden weapons. Crane knew just the place. On the side of the mountains north of the city was tomb that was filled with the dead. In the area in front of the tomb was a graveyard with ordinary skeletons, while inside the tomb itself were skeleton soldiers and stronger monsters.

It took four days to arrive there by road, Crane had only one day to arrange a schedule for his men to follow in his absence. His plan was that over the school week the men would fight with wooden weapons against the skeletons in the graveyard, and during the his three day weekends Crane would make weapons and armor for all of them and supervise training within the tomb against the stronger monsters.

The ancient tomb was of a local king who was worse than the Pharaohs about working his people to death making his resting place. The whole graveyard in fact was of the workers who died making the tomb. Crane tested the graveyard before sending his men. He walked through the path to the tomb causing half a dozen skeletons to pop out of the ground. The act of walking around caused the mobs to appear so it was relatively controllable. Crane busted them up and took a few hits to judge their strength. It was in fact perfect. The men he brought with him averages level sixty and these skeletons were about level fifty. While equipped with wooden weapons the men couldn't kill them easily and the skeletons were not strong enough to kill them easily.  
"Ok listen up. From now until I get back you will train by fighting these guys with your wooden weapons. I've made plenty of spares so no need to be gentle. When night falls and these guys get a 50% bonus you will practice group formations, no one fights alone at night. When I return I will make steel weapons for all of you and we will fight inside the tomb until I leave, at which point you will go back to practicing with wooden weapons against the skeletons until I return again."

Crane first made sure everyone was capable of killing a skeleton without dying. A few had to be given pointers on the best way to dodge and attack an opening with their weapon but other than that they were doing great. 

Connect to Royal Road?

Yes|No

Crane logged back in thursday afternoon after school the get back the his men. All the men were accounted for and still using wooden weapons. Crane had not told them exactly when he would return so they did not just switch back to wooden on the last day. Their skills had improved greatly, all having reached at least level five in their respective mastery. Crane took out his blacksmith gear and started working. Although he made mostly swords and rapiers he was taught the technique to make most weapons and for the irregular ones he felt he could figure it out. First he made a few sets of Steel tonfas. 

Steel Tonfas  
Durability – 110/110.  
Damage – 22~26  
Steel Tonfas made with a thick steel shell over a soft iron core.  
Requires: Level 60. STR 200.  
Increase Critical chance on unarmored opponents

For the shaft of the steel bo staff Crane layered a shell of medium carbon steel over a core of low carbon steel and slowly quenched it to get a hard yet bendable stick, for the short sticks he made high carbon steel over medium carbon steel. That way it would impact hard but be able to absorb impacts without breaking. Crane was able to get one of the sword guys to switch to a hammer before they left the city so with that, the axes, knives and swords, he just needed to make armor for his men and he would be all set for his smithing practice regimen.

The men had only gains two or three levels a piece and the skeleton soldiers in the first section of the tomb were about level eighty, so this would be the first test to see the effectiveness of his own training. At the first skeleton warrior encounter Clint walked up to fight it alone. The skeleton swung its sword which Clint reflected back with a small move of the stick combined with a high speed wrist rotation. The powerful skeleton's attack was only deflected slightly but it was enough to give Clint an opening he used to whack the head of the skeleton so hard the skull actually spun a few times before Clint had spun himself around and swept its legs, cracking the knee of the creature before he used the staff as a spring the jump a few feet into the air and smash the tip of the staff into the skeleton's head in what Crane assumed was a polearm skill. It seemed he had nothing to worry about. The training had taught them to attack without being attacked as well as many different combinations of skills that could be used in succession against the skeletons. Each person was able to attack while dodging because the skeleton warrior's movements were so similar to that of the ordinary skeleton. The only problem were the mages. The tomb was where the King's warriors, knights, mages and few other things got buried with him. The skeleton mages had many curses they could use and without a priest they had to rely on the ever diminishing potion supply Crane had to keep making. Crane found that the best way to deal with mages was a three fold Isa spell. Crane was the only person who could take care of them instantly when they appeared so the group was unable to stay training in the tomb when Crane had to leave the following sunday night.

And so it went for four weeks. Every thursday he logged back in and remade weapons and armor for each of his men after questioning them about how well the last one was and how they thought Crane could make them better. Crane got a little more insight on how his techniques affected the overall quality of the weapons and armor each time. After that Crane would escort them through the tomb, fighting skeleton soldiers, skeleton knights, and skeleton mages. At the end of the weekend Crane would carve new wooden weapons, destroy the steel weapons and armors, and repeat the cycle the following thursday. 

Skill Level Up: Blacksmithing [10]  
Your blacksmithing skill has exceeded level 10 and has reached the intermediate stage.  
New skills:  
Sword Grind, Armor Polish, and Equipment Enhancement  
Sword Grind – Grinds the sword, weapon damage is amplified  
Armor Polish – Confuses and dazzles enemies along with an increase in defense.  
Equipment Enhancement –Can correct the various faults within equipment.

Rune Smith can be used without lowering durability.  
+5 To all stats  
Fame +50.

Crane let out a heavy sigh of relief and gratitude. After the message came out, a couple of pictures popped up illustrating a technique. Crane saw it was a blacksmith carving a line out of a sword. Next it showed him placing a small strip of metal the same width and depth on the section that was carved out, and the next had the smith hammering it in. The picture after that showed him heating it and the last showed the glowing rune Isa on a sword, but not as an indentation but as a strip of different colored metal.

Now Crane knew what he needed to do, basically after having carved out the rune he needed to replace the metal and melt it into the work. That way the loss metal and structural integrity is restored.

His men were about level 90, they could defeat skeleton soldiers (lvl 80) with wooden weapons and skeletons knights (lvl 100) one on one with normal weapons. Now it was time to up the stakes.

First thing he wanted to do was test Rune smith's full power, the Equipment enhancement skill, as well as sword grind and armor polish.

Crane first made a steel shield, after letting it cool and polishing it he got a base reading. "Identify." 

Composite Steel Shield  
Durability – 130/130.  
Defense – 21  
A round shield made with different types of iron by a skilled smith.  
Requires: Level 75. STR 230.

First the skill he spent so many guild points to find out how to learn it. "Enhance equipment."  
Suddenly Crane noticed several points on the shield were a slightly different shade than the area around it, he hadn't noticed it before, but the carbon that permeated that area had very few cross sections. From experience Crane knew this was because the carbon had not uniformly mixed, but there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. Crane removed the hide and wooden lining of the shield and got a little bit of iron and charcoal. In his own hands used kenaz to melt the iron and thoroughly mix the carbon into it. When finished he divided it into five and put each over the weakspots. After heating up the shield in the same areas, Crane hammered the carbon iron into the spots until completely flattened, and let it cool. Crane observed that the carbon lines that formed on cooling now criss crossed with the lines in the rest of the shield. He then hammered the edges and polished until one couldn't even tell new metal had been added, after which he reattached the wood handle and hide backing. "Identify." 

Composite Steel Shield  
Durability – 140/140.  
Defense – 23  
A round shield made with different types of iron by a skilled smith.  
Requires: Level 80. STR 240.

The stats of the shield increased, it was now a higher quality equipment, meaning the requirements also increased. This meant he couldn't enhance the equipment of someone when it was close to or matched their level. Crane used the skill again to see if there was anything he missed, but there wasn't. The shield wasn't perfect, but it no longer had flaws that brought down its stats. Now it was time for the next test. Crane got out a carving knife and a small hammer. He then skillfully proceeded to carve four Thurisaz runes into four sides of the shield. Before casting, Crane took out the silver pellets he had made and heated them until malleable. He drew a few out into a long piece the same width of the carved runes and broke the thin silver rod into segments he placed into the indentation of the runes, and heated them up again. Crane hammered them flat and polished them, the result was a pure silver symbol on a shiny grey surface. Crane imagined Thurisaz's power of defense and protection being added to the shield and said, "Thurisaz." 

Maximum Mana decreases by 200  
Composite Steel Shield has been added to Rune List

The four silver runes now glowed dimly on the edges of the shield's face. "Identify." 

Composite Steel Shield  
Durability – 140/140.  
Defense – 23  
A round shield made with different types of iron by a skilled smith. Powerful rune magic has been inscribed into this shield.  
Options:  
+15% Defense  
+20% Magic Resistance  
Reflects 10% Physical Damage as lightning magic  
Requires: Level 80. STR 240.

The shield he upgraded back in purgatory had more damage reflection, but for this one he focused on defense and magic defense to counter the skeleton mages. Overall it was an excellent shield, especially since adding Rune magic didn't increase the level requirement. Crane proceeded to make weapons and armor for everyone. He enhanced the equipments who owners were a higher level, and after that he carved runes onto everything. For the weapons he carved either fire, ice, or lightning attributes, and for the armor and remaining shields he carved various combinations of runes, mostly Thurisaz and Isa.

After a practice session where Crane ensured that everyone could handle their new weapons properly, Crane sharpened every weapon with an edge, polished everyone's armor, and lead the troop into the deeper part of the tomb where the king's elite guards were buried, after they were beheaded for trying to rise up against their king. They were the level 140 Dullahans. Before this point Crane had not given them rune enhanced weapons, how they fought with these against a monster about fifty levels stronger then they were would determine the true effectiveness of the training.

The first Dullahan they found was a muscular brute of a knight, a black axe in one hand and a his own head carried in the other. Before the group approached the severed head spoke. "Are you lot warriors?" At the query the whole group raised their weapons. A smile could clearly be seen on the dullahan's face. He charged forward, abnormally fast for someone with such a large body. Two of the swordsmen in the troop rushed to meet the oncoming axe. In perfect unison they raised their shields overlapping one another and took the axe's hit. The men's knees buckled under the weight and power of the strike but in the same moment the hammer and mace users jumped over the kneeling soldiers and smashed their thirty-five pound weapons into the Dullahan's chest armor. Crane could only smile. Spending equal time fighting individually and in self assigned teams made the whole of unit stronger than the sum of its parts. Of course it wasn't just that. Crane gave both the hammer and mace user weapons with lightning damage, and had them practice such maneuvers. The simultaneous blow from the two lightning weapons sent a thunderbolt throw the dullahan as well as sent him back about seven feet. The dullahan's face went red, his severed head roared as he got back up and shouted "DEVIL"S STRIKE!" as he threw his axe at the group. The shield users raised their shields and ducked low, at the moment just before impact they bumped their shield's up. It was the same trick Crane's blacksmith instructor used and Crane taught to them. The impact of the axe sent the shields back but the axe was bumped into the air above them where it dug into the ceiling. The Dullahan charged after producing another axe and the swordsman charged as well. With the men ducking and weaving when the monster slashed they attacked relentlessly until the brute finally fell.

Even if the men were able to notice the dullahan's fighting pattern they probably wouldn't be able to use it to predict the movement of their opponent. Crane learned awhile ago the strengths and limits of NPCs in combat. At low levels an NPC was unable to recognize patterns and use them to predict movements like a reasonably skilled user could do. They could however be trained to work together with far more efficiently than users with the same experience. A fact which Crane did everything in his power to utilize to best effect.

After seeing how well his men and their new equipment were doing he assigned the men into four groups and set them loose on the dungeon with instructions to wipe everything out. There was something he wanted to do himself. It had been a while since he he last wore armor and he wanted a challenge. He saved the dungeon boss for last.

In a large room on a stone throne sat a skeleton wearing a gold crown.  
In a voice that seemed to be coming from the walls themselves spoke, "Bow before the great King!"

Crane looked around for a moment and said, "Great King? What great king? All I see is a rotten old man who can't let go of the past."

The king answered, "My reign is eternal, my subjects, forever bound to my service. As long as I wear this crown. I am King!" The skeleton raised his hand into the air, all around him Crane could hear the sound of coffins opening.

Crane took noble step and majestic stance. He then wrote the Thurisaz rune three times with his rapier and took a step into it with the thought, 'Imbue my armor with the cosmic force of defense through lightning,' before calling, "Thurisaz."

Crane's armor glowed bright yellow, this was only the third time he had successfully buffed equipment that had a rune carved into it. In previous attempts he had made a knife, carved thurisaz on it, cast thurisaz four times with rune sword on the knife then doubled the effect with rune call but that combined with the already charged knife caused an explosion. He tried several combinations only to find that just like rune call and rune sword stacked with a doubling effect, so did rune smith. Crane learned the hard way the effects of overcharging a weapon with runes, and since it did not increase the spell's power unless it was the same type, it was better not to use weapons with runes on them for now. This applied to his armor as well but this situation was an exception. The pure silver Crane had used to fill the carved out Thurisaz runes in the armor was a perfect conductor of electricity. This slightly increased the limit the equipment could be charged with the lightning based Thurisaz rune before exploding. (The armor had only two thurisaz runes carved onto it so it stacked to twelve times the power of a single thurisaz.)

From the coffins emerged skeletons, skeleton soldiers, and skeleton mages. Crane dashed to the king but was blocked off by the quick casting of the mages and the four skeleton knights who emerged from the ground and now stood in between Crane and his target. The king himself seemed content to watch Crane struggle to reach him. The skeletons, the mages, and knights numbered in about forty total. However they were all so weak Crane could take them out with one or two blows a piece. Crane dashed from one to another slashing off skull after skull, with each skeleton falling into a heap of bones. After half a minute Crane had killed about half of them and was moving to the king who started a low cackling laugh. The next moment the bones started reassembling themselves back into skeletons. The king stated, "As I said, forever bound to my service."

In other words the subjects were enslaves even in death to whatever magic the king was using. Attacking them with normal attacks just broke them. He would have to either burn or freeze every bone there and he didn't have nearly enough mana to do it after having lost more than half of it making equipment for his men. Crane still had his trump card of course, but he needed an opening to make the most of it.

He tried going for the king again but the knights got in the mage and the mages cast curse spells at his back. He couldn't afford to ignore them so he rushed to kill just the mages before returning to fight the king. However the mages resurrected as soon as his back was turned, the king laughed as Crane wasted his stamina trying to get through them. Crane found another mage and cast "Isa," but before the black wave got to it, several other skeletons jumped into the path, taking the hit. Crane could use Fehu but that spell costed almost five hundred mana and he couldn't waste that on the mages and the skeletons before fighting the king.

Crane resorted to taunting. "You think you're strong, you have nothing but the strength of your men, you're nothing!."

At this the king stood up, seething for a moment. He yelled, "THEIR STRENGTH IS MY STRENGTH!"

All of the skeletons fell apart to the ground, but as if they were on an inclined slope they fell sideways towards the king. The bones then flew to him, assembling around him into a giant mass that slowly took shape into an enormous bone behemoth.

Crane stared up at the towering monster and said, "Well, its now or never, Call Keagan."  
Keagan appeared in the room and set himself ablaze in response to the presence of the bone behemoth. Crane went to one side while Keagan went to the other. The bone monster roared as a dark aura enveloped the bones, likely a spell from the skeleton mages that were now apart of him. Keagan pounched on the beast causing it to topple for a moment, his jaw and claws ripped bones off the body. Crane cast rune sword Thurisaz, Fehu, Fehu, Fehu, while Keagan distracted it. The moment the spell was ready Crane used battle aura to signal Keagan to jump off before Crane shot an enormous torrent of fire at the creature's back. The dark aura was blown away and the bones were now on fire. Crane saw a shining spec among the fire at the top of the beast, Crane shouted, "Get the Crown!"

Keagan jumped back onto the burning behemoth but was swatted away before he could climb to the top. Crane made another runesword spell aimed at the monster's composite bone feet, the only place that wasn't on fire. Isa! Crane coated as much of the feet as he could in ice before, with the last of his mana cast with rune sword, 'Thurisaz Fehu.' The fire pillar struck the iced legs causing them to emit steam for a moment before they completely exploded. With its feet suddenly gone it buckled over giving Keagan the opportunity to rush in and grab the crown. Keagan crushed it in his teeth before jumping off the behemoth.

What at first appeared to be white steam started evaporating out of the bones. Only a moment later did the white mist coalesce into many spirits who floated up to the ceiling. Form the pile Crane heard a quiet, "Thankyou." 

Your familiarity towards spirits of the dead has increased.

The remainder of the skeleton behemoth dissolved into a pile of bones but Crane's experience points since entering had remained unchanged. Crane waited for a moment but the pile wasn't moving. "Keagan, go get him." The skeleton king was actually hiding, hiding in plain sight among the giant pile of bones. Too bad Keagan could sense his fighting spirit. The fire cat dug through the pile, grabbed the skull of the king and ran with it in his teeth back to Crane who said, "Any last words?"

Keagan crunched the skull anyways. "Too late."

Crane didn't get any experience for the infinite responding skeletons he defeated and the King was about his level so he only got moderate exp for it, but the king did drop a key. But after searching a bit Crane found a chest with about seven thousand gold and some jewels. Crane had not actually sold the jewels he had been accumulating, he wanted to wait till he was a better sculptor and carve runes into the jewels and make accessories or impart the jewels into weapons to make them look cooler and have stronger magic effects.

Crane returned Keagan to his necklace and went around the dungeon to see that it was mostly empty, either his men killed everything off or all the skeletons vanished with the destruction of the crown. Crane found his men at the dungeon's entrance and asked each one questions about the efficacy of the weapons before retrieving them. For many of the weapons he gave different attributes and he wanted to know the differences between effects. After asking question and examining the weapons, Crane had a general idea of the strengths and limits of rune smith. The strengths were obviously the incredible increase in damage and defense, of both physical and magic. However after examining all the equipment he found that the weapon's durability degraded at a terrifying rate. Between a sword with two runes on it and a sword with four from two swordsmen who fought together and roughly the same amount, the sword with more runes lost durability much faster. Also between a sword with three Thurisaz runes and a sword with three Fehu runes, the sword with the lightning damage had more durability than the sword with fire damage. Crane attributed this to the silver giving the sword greater compatibility with the rune. The only exception was the weapons and armor that only had one or more Isa runes on them. Those pieces barely lost any durability since the fight started. However from the reports, Crane found out that the weapons with just Isa for ice damage did less overall damage than the other weapons, and the armor with Isa did not absorb as much damage as regular armor. Crane concluded that Isa preserved the weapons and armor by bypassing damage. So a weapon with high durability and less attack will last longer than a weapon with high durability and high attack. And armor needs to be able to take damage to absorb impacts, otherwise it seamlessly passes through the armor into the wearer.

Crane concluded that the weapons degraded faster to to the incompatibility of the foreign power. Crane wasn't a true magic blacksmith, nor a proper enchanter so he couldn't add magic attributes without a cost. Until higher levels of skill mastery at least Crane would have to limit production to expendable weapons or weapons made of compatible materials. Crane would try for a silver alloy lightning blade another day. For now Crane destroyed all the equipment, he couldn't afford having his men rely on glass cannon.

Crane addressed his men. "Congratulations, you have the basics down. Our next destination is Resshin temple." There was some murmuring in the ranks. Resshin temple was built by the great Warrior Resshin and his disciples as an all purpose training ground. The descendents of his disciples still keep it in operation, though the late King Daxes had closed it off in fear that an army would train there and gain enough strength to overthrow him. Under the order of Jinir, the temple was re-opened and brought back to working order a few days ago.

Crane continued, "Herios Goldking sent specific instructions to the temple that it will receive a boost in funding on the condition that individual training is giving to each man in this unit. Your specialties will be expanded and refined, you will become the strongest unit in this kingdom." Many of the men seemed excited, they were picked because of their appreciation of the merits of training and they understood what receiving personal training at Resshin temple meant.

It was also time for Crane's own martial training to start. But first he checked on the progress of his craft training. "Open Skill list."

Alchemy [9] 70%  
Enables you to create quality potions from ingredients  
[tr][td]Rune Smith [5] 31%  
Can carve Runes into weapons and armor that grant additional options without decreasing max durability  
Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used  
For every rune carved, Maximum mana decreases by 50  
Mana returns upon item's destruction  
Effect Strength determined by Sculpture mastery

Sculpture Mastery Intermediate [2] 89%  
Enables you to produce complicated works.

Handicraft skill Intermediate [7] 22%  
Dexterity Rating. Enhances your craft skills in every field  
Increases attack power with melee and long range weapons. (+65% ATK)  
Increases attack power with fists. (+110% ATK)

Cooking [5] 69%

Blacksmith Intermediate [1] 12%  
Enables you to craft equipment from metal.

Weapon Carving [5] 81%  
Weapons carved out of wood are stronger and more resilient.

Mineral Refining [2] 60%  
Increases ability to remove impurity from various metals

Sword Grind [1] 54%  
Grinds the sword, weapon damage is amplified

Polishing [2] 77%  
Confuses and dazzles enemies along with an increase in defense

Equipment Enhancement [2] 96%  
Can correct the various faults within equipment  
Mana cost: 50

Besides making weapons and armor he was also making food and brewing potions. Over the last month each of his craft skills improved by at least one level and he gained nearly half a dozen new ones.

The group traveled west for a few days, Crane let them go ahead of him on weekdays and caught up to them after school on Keagan's back. By the following thursday they arrived at Resshin Temple. The entrance was a narrow passage between of a crack on a cliff face of a mountain. The kind of place only the adventurous discover by accident. At the end of the winding path was a courtyard larger than a village, completely surrounded by the mountain.

A monk walked up to meet the group that was now admire the sheer grandeur of the temple. "Welcome, you are Crane's group yes? Please come this way, the masters are expecting you."

The monk lead the group to a large ornate building supported by stone pillars with open yards room within they we lead too had a dozen men and women talking amongst themselves while drinking tea. Upon the group's arrival they leisurely got up and started looking through the group one by one. Crane thought they would ask questions, request that they show their stat and skill charts, or maybe ask for a demonstration of abilities, but suddenly the people started tsimply talking his men, one after another and leading them wordlessly outside. A woman, mid to late thirties with blonde buns in her hair stopped looking through people, smiled mischieviously at Crane and picked him up under her arm and ran outside. Crane managed to look back to his men just in time to see Clint crack a grin at Crane before he too was kidnapped.

"Umm, miss?" Crane tried to get a straight answer but she seemed to be heading in a certain direction. "Umm, where are we going?" They were heading straight inside a gymnasium sized building with a large dirt cover area inside that reminded Crane of the track field. The woman dropped Crane and said, "Your task is to get to the other side without combat skills."

Crane looked through the area, the only thing in it was the dirt ground. It looked like it may have once been an arena of some sorts. Crane said, "I'm sorry mam but I can take care of my own training." She smiled, slapped his back and said, "Of course I know that, among all of those guys you were the only one who had the look of someone who had completed the Basic Training hall. Well, this is the Beginner Training hall, the next step if you want to become stronger."

Crane looked back through the area. He didn't know that there was a training hall in the temple. The only thing he knew was that to access one training hall, you needed to complete the previous one. Crane came to this temple specifically to become stronger so it would be foolish to back away now.

"Alright, so I can;t used combat skills?" Crane asked.

"Well to be more accurate you will be unable to use them."

"Are spells ok?"

"Of course."

Crane got ready to move, but before he started the woman said, "And a word of advice, don't run, that would make it too easy, no, too convenient."

Crane didn't understand, too convenient for him, or for something else? Crane slowly walked forward, careful to to take too quick a pace. Suddenly the ground began to rumble beneath his feet. Dirt piles around he rose up, taking the form of warriors. Crane took out his rapier and dagger and attacked, but they were strong. Crane shouted to boost his strength and was able to break their guard and damage one of them, but before he could deal another blow he was stabbed from behind. 

You have received a critical hit!

Crane was surrounded, more had popped out from behind him while he was trying to fight the first few. Crane used Dash to slip away to where he could perform a stance, but as he ran more of the dirt warriors appeared around each step wielding an even higher variety of weapons than Crane's own troop, there were more than twenty now. Crane gave up on fighting these and dashed for the finish line but earthen warriors were now sprouting up everywhere, a dozen, swords drawn were already in front of the goal and more were popping up from behind them. Now there were at least sixty of them, and more were coming from everywhere, but especially around Crane. Crane made a last ditch effort to fight against them, shouting with every strike and moving to severe the head with each blow but there were too many.

Crane woke up an hour later to a laughing face.  
"How do you like my Infinite Earthen Men? The first time is a freebie but next time you enter you either leave on your own power, succeed, or die."

Crane asked, "How strong are those things?" For someone who was almost level two hundred to have his butt handed to him by something with the word Beginner in the title just didn't seem right.

The instructor answered, "It isn't about strength, each one is as strong as a warrior of your own level. Their particular stats are varied of course but their level will always match your own."

Crane sat down and took a deep breathe. One of the many faults of being a spellsword had caught up to him. Warriors of his own level would have higher marital stats than his own due to how many he needed to put into INT for mana and WIS for rune magic attack power. Crane could do many things but he was nowhere near all powerful. His spells were weak so they needed to be stacked to match the power of a mage, something that actually cost him more mana than a mage's spells cost, and of course the stacking of rune sword required time to cast. Crane thought about the various properties of earth against his spells. Lightning had no use, fire probably wouldn't do much, and in dirt as dry as that arena's the ice spell would just make the dirt cold without any moisture to freeze. And even if his magic did affect them Crane didn't have enough mana to take down an army of infinite responding dirt warriors. Oddly enough this was the second time he faced this kind of challenge but this time he couldn't just aggravate the dirt into coalescing into a single creature for Crane to beat. Crane imagined himself insulting the dirt, only to find even in his imagination he was suddenly surrounded on all sides.

'What was it she said? Dashing would be too convenient? I don't think she meant convenient for me.' Crane then remembered the rate the men appeared suddenly changed. When he walked only a few popped up, but when he started shouting many appeared, and many more after he started running. Crane thought that the warriors must emerge in response to sound or vibrations in the soil. Though that didn't help him, it meant using Rune call or Shout in there would attract them faster.

Crane got up and left the training hall, the instructor said, "If you want a good spot to practice, there is a free sparring arena behind this place built into the mountain." Crane figured he might as well check it out.

The arena was not exactly hidden but it wasn't out in the open. The wall of the mountain had been carved off leaving a recess that shaded it from the sun. If you didn't know where it was you wouldn't even notice. Crane had seen a few arenas in the game, this one had about as much free space as the training hall, on the ground he saw several groups and pairs sparring. By far the one who stood out the most was the woman dressed in gladiatorial attire with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. The sword looked spartan and the shield was round and flat. Her opponent was a dualist, he was quick, lean, a full head taller, had two short swords, and was completely on the defensive.

The gladiator's attack style was unpredictable, by shifting the position of her grip on her sword and shield she was able to throw off throw off the dualist's perception of attack and defense range, she was using his own experience against him. Crane approached the arena to get a closer look, at the gladiator's style. The dualist jumped back to get some distance but she threw her shield at him, revealing the leather cord wrapped around her arm that connected from her shield to the hilt of her sword. "Attached," Crane mumbled aloud. Crane ran to the other side of the arena to get a look at her face. Although the roman style helmet covered her cheeks and nose, her eyes and lips were clearly visible, and Crane recognized them. It was Miyeok, the girl from his school.

Miyeok threw her sword at the dualist but as he dodged to his left she threw her shield to his right. He didn't duck in to to prevent the cord between the weapons from wrapping around him as Miyeok grabbed them as they swung back around and pointed her sword at the dualist's throat. He bowed his head down and said, "I conceed."

As he left the arena Crane took out his rapier and stepped forward, he said, "You need a moment to get ready?"

She smiled and said, "Do you? I'm already warmed up."

Crane lifted his rapier and knife and took his majestic stance. Miyeok said, "Finesse eh? Take all the stances you want." Crane replied, "Ladies first."

Miyeok stepped forward and slashed, Crane whispered, "Equipment enhancement," as he side stepped and parried. In an instant he noticed that Miyeok's sword had a minute weakness in the steel at the hilt, it was made of inferior iron of low purity. Crane moved to strike Miyeok's side with his knife but when she tried to parry with her sword he twisted his knife to strike the sword's weak spot, simultaneously striking the weak spot, denying her the parry and opening her side for Crane to strike. However he turn over his knife and struck her armored side with the pummel before she jumped back. Crane gave her a smirk which she replied with a face that said, "no more miss nice girl," and threw her sword. Crane had experienced fighting his smithing teacher's chain and shield so this wasn't unfamilar, Crane crossed his weapons like a scissor to cut the leather when it passed by causing Miyeok to hesitate and pull the sword back, giving Crane an opening to charge. Miyeok twisted her body, increasing the speed her sword retracted while giving it momentum, she was going to throw it around her back to Crane at a speed that would cut him in half. Crane stopped moving to give her an easier target, his goal was to break her sword on the nick he gave it earlier. Crane took Regal Guard as Miyeok turned all the way around to whirl the sword back at Crane who would meet it with his knife.

CRRK

The sword snapped above the hilt. Miyeok drew the broken weapon back in and stared dumbstruck at Crane. A knife shouldn't be able to break a sword, even with the power she had thrown into the blade.

Crane said, "Continue?"

She shook her head, "No, how did you do that?"

"Part time blacksmith, your blade wasn't bad, but it wasn't perfect, I detected a weak point and aimed for that."

Miyeok held up her swordless hilt and said, "This thing wasn't cheap you know."

"I can make you a new one and some armor if you'd like."

She smiled and said, "Now why would you do that?"

Crane answered, "Well Miyeok, it is the least I can do for letting watch you fight."

After a stunned moment she looked carefully at his face. The only changes people made in their appearance were usually ones to make themselves more attractive, but Crane's randomly attributed avatar was plain looking so no one would suspect it wasn't his actual face. While trying to remember his face she asked, "Have we met before?"

"Yes, I randomized my appearance on logging in, last time you saw me I was in a wheelchair."

"Ahh, so the spellsword craft class. Well my name here is Setsuna."

"Crane."

"Well Crane, what brings you to Resshin temple?"

"Training. My current goal is the beginner training hall."

Setsuna nodded, "Same here. That and the agility stat."

"I see, I just got here. You know where the stat training board is?"

"Come on, I'm heading there myself."

The Resshin Temple was unique in that it had repeatable quest type training that rewarded the completer with stats. This was the main reason Crane came in the first place, although the quests couldn't be repeated forever, there were several levels of each so they could be repeated a few times to gain quite a few bonus stats.

Setsuna lead Crane to what looked like a quest board with multiple listings. She tapped it then told Crane to do likewise. After doing so a screen appeared. 

-Strength: Bring Black Stone Boulder to the top of the mountain.

-Agility: Downhill Dash.

-Wisdom: Solve Riddles.

-Intellect: Solve Puzzle.

-Luck: Walk up Avalanche mountain

-Perseverance: Sit under waterfall.

-Fighting Spirit: Arena Challenge

-Faith: Pray to the shrines spread across the mountain range

-Resilience: Ingest poison.

-Affinity to Nature: Plant trees.

-Concentration: Count the lit candles in the great hall.

-Courage: Jump from the mountain's peak into the lake.

-Insight: Shadow Maze.

-Toughness: Stay in Troll cave.

-Faith: Pray at the 50 shrines located throughout the mountain range.

If you didn't have the stat you could do the training and acquire it, if you had the stat you could do the training and get more. Setsuna said, "I'm doing agility and strength. Here, you do them too."

Crane tapped both agility and strength which highlighted them.

"Ok, now we go to the testing area, strength first."

Again Setsuna lead Crane, this time it was all the way to the back of the temple where the temple ended and the mountain rose up. There sat a monk in front of a pile of large black stones of various sizes. When the pair approached he said, "Sign in and take a rock." Crane signed his name on the paper

Take the rock up the mountain.  
A chance to train your muscles in a difficult task.  
Difficulty: Unknown  
Reward Dependent on size of stone

At the large pile Setsuna got a rock twice her size and said, "Don't get an easy one, the harder it is for you to lift, the better."

From the way she was struggling Crane figured the rocks were incredibly dense. He tried to move one that was the same size as Setsuna's but he couldn't lift it onto his back. He tried one a bit smaller and had better luck, he was barely able to manage but he could walk forward. 

- Current weight has exceeded strength capacity.  
Penalty: 620% increase in stamina consumption rate.

Crane could barely speak but he managed to say, "What is your penalty at?"

"585%, yours?"

"620%."

"Thats fine, it just means more breaks. Let's go."

Near the pile of rocks was a path that lead up the mountain, Setsuna took the lead and Crane followed. After about fifteen minutes Crane's muscles were sore and burning, he felt like his blood had been replaced by lava. Crane asked, "Break time?"

Setsuna dropped her bolder and said, "Yea, now's fine." Crane dropped his as well next to hers and sat behind it to prevent it from rolling downhill.

"You know most people have their first break after three or five minutes. You're not bad considering you're using stamina at more than six times the normal rate. Especially since this is your first go."

Crane said in between deep breaths, "I've had my share of long fights. Lacking in stamina costs you in drawn out battles."

Crane and Setsuna talked throughout each break, Crane telling her his stories and Setsuna sharing hers. The path up the mountain twisted back and forth for several miles, it took eight hours for the pair to get all the way to the peak 

Quest Complete: Take the rock up the mountain.  
-Strength increased by 7 points (+7 STR)

Setsuna asked, "So how many you get?"

"Seven, you?"

"Two. Even after switching to heavier rocks you can only do this so many time. I can probably get five more points out of this before it stops giving me any."

"How many you gotten so far?"

"In strength? A little over forty. This place is similar to the basic training hall but with a max of fifty per stat."

Crane counted fifteen stats that could be trained here, if someone took the effort to gain fifty of each it would be the same as getting one hundred fifty levels worth of stat points. Crane almost considered never leaving.

Setsuna was looking up into the night sky, the mountain's peak was just above the clouds and the stars shone as brightly as the crescent moon in the sky.  
"This is my favorite training here, I always time it so I finish at night."

Crane could appreciate that, stopping to smell the roses was one of the main difference between Royal Road and a regular video game.

"Well, the agility training right over here."

Setsuna broke Crane out of his revelry and lead him to another trail, this one a long downhill slope that seemed to lead all the way down the mountain. Though Crane couldn't see more than a hundred feet through the cloud banks that coated the mountain

There was another monk at the entrance to the path and again Crane and Setsuna signed their names on the quest form. 

Downhill Dash.  
A chance to train your speed in a difficult task.  
Difficulty: Unknown  
Reward Dependent on how fast you get to the bottom.

The monk at the station said, "Careful not to trip."

Setsuna said, "He isn't kidding, the faster you run the more likely your feet won't keep up and the higher your chances of tripping up. This path isn't smooth, there are small rock jutts that can barely been seen when sprinting past them so there is almost no time to react."

Setsuna lifted her knees high while jogging in place and said, "Lift your knees to prevent tripping, run low to the ground so you can see the obstacles, and don't run faster than you can sprint."

Setsuna started down the path and almost immediately disappeared into the clouds. Crane started his run, his pace increased faster and faster until he reached the point he was running at his sprinting speed. From there he had to make an effort to not go faster, while raising his knees with each step, while watching out for obstacles through the moonlit fog, and while trying not to run off the path to his death. Crane cut back on his speed a bit more as the path got narrower and begun winding more. The path lead down for about twenty minutes before it finally bottomed out. 

Quest Completed: Downhill Dash.  
-Agility increased by 3 points (+3 AGI)

"So what'd you get?" Setsuna walked up to Crane get after he reached the bottom.

"Three."

Setsuna nodded, "You played it safe right? That's smart on the first go. Now that you know the trail you can speed up to the point that is faster than sprinting. This trial really is determined by how much risk you are taking when you speed up. I got here six minutes ago, also got three points for agility."

Crane wasn't moving as fast as he could but he wasn't slow, for her to get there a full six minutes ahead of him meant she must have been sprinting at an ungodly pace.

After talking a bit more Setsuna logged out, it was already midnight. Crane would stay until 2am like he always did on friday nights, that was eight more hours to try out the other stat training.

After someone gets a class the fifteen stat limit is gone meaning Crane could in theory acquire all of them. The easiest one seemed to be resilience, the stat measurement that determined the likelihood one would be affected by a status. Players with moderate resilience took less damage from poison, recovered from paralysis faster, and less likely to be affected by stat reducing skills. A player with high resilience was practically immune to status effects and stat reduction.

Crane highlighted the item on the stat board then asked someone where the trial took place. The trial it seemed had to be bought at the local store after having registered to take it and receiving it as a quest. It came in a set with a poison and antidote, you either withstood the poison till the effects wore off or took the antidote to stop the trial. 

You have been severely poisoned!  
Your health and stamina will decline.

Crane now felt like his blood had been replaced by acid. It actually seemed react with the soreness he felt from before, bringing it back with a vengeance. Crane had to sit down, he would have collapse from the pain but he had just enough fortitude to prevent him from doing so. Crane took deep breaths and tried to will the pain away, asking his body to do whatever was necessary to eliminate the cause on its own. The pain slightly receded, Crane kept his mind focused, not on the pain, but on the absence of pain, and trying to strengthen the thought of the absence of pain to the point it was stronger than the pain, erasing the pain with nothingness 

The poison has worn off.  
New Stat: Resilience  
Resilience Increased by 10 points (+ 10 RES)

Crane took in a few more deep breaths, the pain was gone now but the memory of it was still fresh. He decided it was time to log out and go to sleep.

Crane was in a hallway darker than pitch black. There was less than no difference between closing and opening his eyes, he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He reached with outstretched arms and felted the wall he followed until it opened.

'Opening at twelve feet.'

He passed it and continued following the wall till the he reached a dead end where he started following the wall's opposite side.

'Dead end at ten feet.'

After moving through the darkness back ten feet he walked out to the opening he found and started on that wall. Crane was using his utmost inner focus to create a mental map of the shadow maze. The goal was not just to find its exit, but once there you had to lead someone else from there back to the entrance. For doing so he would gain the Insight stat and the faster he lead them through the more bonus stats he would receive. The temple had three floors of shadow mazes with higher difficulties lower, Crane was currently on the easiest one. It took over five hours for him to completely memorize the maze, it was only five acres in size. Crane successfully lead the person from the exit to the entrance through the shortest route. 

Quest Completed: Shadow Maze.  
New Stat: Insight  
-Insight increased by 12 points (+12 INS)

After leaving Crane whispered to Setsuna, they had registered as friends on the mountain.

-Finished, got twelve insight points.

-Nice, I tried avalanche mountain again but I almost got squished and had to turn back, what you want to do next?"

-Hmm, how about faith? I may be able to learn holy spells at some point and if you get faith you would be able to get fame giving quests from the church.

A gladiator needed fame like a paladin needed faith. The skills Setsuna was able to learn was determined by her fame stat, and it was well known that churches gave a lot of fame as a quest reward.

-Sounds good, haven't done that one yet.

The pair met up at the stat board and highlighted the faith stat.

After going to a priest where they registered the test Crane asked, "So how does this work?"

The priest smiled and said, "Well, there are fifty shrines to Týr spread about the mountain range. You must look for and pray to them. After praying to one for thirty minutes straight you get a faith stat. Also of course you must look for them yourself. Týr is watching and will know your faith is untrue if you are guided to his shrines."

Crane and Setsuna started climbing the mountain searching for the shrines. Since neither knew where any were it wasn't like they were being guided. After twenty minutes Setsuna found one, a statue of a warrior missing his hand. Crane and Setsuna sat down and prayed. Crane spent the time trying to appreciate all the things he knew Týr had done. 

New Stat: Faith  
Faith Increased by 1 point (+ 1 FAI)

Crane and Setsuna found six more shrines before giving up and deciding it was too much of a hassle. Next they tried Concentration.

When they entered the large room and found hundreds of candles, at first they thought the task would be easy, but many of the candles were not lite so they had to count the flames of each one. Again this seemed easy at first, but the task was mind numbing and monotonous. It was too easy to skip over a candle and forget or go past a candle and wonder if you had already counted it. The candles were close together but not set up into recognizable patterns so it was difficult to count how many were in a group and remember it because they were hard to separate into groups in the first place. After losing track several times forcing him to recount he finally was confident he had a number and found it matched the number Setsuna had reached 

New Stat: Concentration  
Concentration Increased by 2 point (+ 2 CON)

It seemed they had taken so long to count they barely received any stat points.

Oddly enough the easiest trials for Crane were the Intelligence and Wisdom. The wisdom trial simply consisted of riddles that Crane had to solve.

I am the beginning of the end and the end of every place.  
The beginning of eternity and the end of time and space.

"The letter E."

Wisdom Increased by 1 point (+1 WIS)

The intelligence puzzles were not as intuitive. Each puzzle had pieces and each piece had rules. It was like learning to play chess then having to play against a chess master who could only be beaten with a single series of moves. The possibilities were endless but there was always only one path, and it was never the obvious one. However they were still interesting. Some of the puzzles were historical recreations of battles whose outcomes were recorded but not their method. For these Crane had to determine the same path to victory using the same limited resources as the commander at the time. Crane thoroughly enjoyed them. To complete each puzzle he had to discover a new way of thinking, something he would take with him for the rest of his life.

Over the next four weeks, four in game months, Crane and Setsuna stat trained, sparred, and grew closer together both in and out of the game. During lunch, Hyup, Yoochun, and Miyeok ate together and talked about royal road. Yoochun had started, after much convincing from the pair, to train at a training hall in his starting city until he completed the regimen. He threatened to quit every day but the pair insisted that if Yoochun didn't then he would be too weak to fight with them. He was able to complete it after two school weeks and just recently gotten a spearmen class. Crane shared many of the secrets he learned in the restricted section of Yarsan;s library with them, including secret skill training methods and some of the locations he thought there could be runes. Yoochun, who had chosen a starting city on the other side of the continent said he would keep an eye out for any if he ever went to any of those locations.

Before Crane was the large dirt pit of the Beginner training hall. Setsuna had passed three in game weeks prior and this was Crane's seventh attempt. Crane steeled his resolve and stepped forward. After five steps the first group of earthen men popped up. Before they even finished forming Crane gave a muffled grunt through his nose, (a relatively silent shout) and slashed two of their heads off before another grunt and another two heads went flying. Crane didn't increase his pace but neither did he slow down a single step. Twelve more appeared, three of them on on each of his four sides. Crane slashed his sword six times times with three grunts every step, after ducking when he timed the warriors at his back would attack he turned around and slashed two of the ones behind him with twelve blows apiece in critical locations with his rapier and dagger before turning back around and continuing his pace forward. There were now about fifteen at his back but he kept them in a line at his back so the one directly behind him had others clamoring through him before he could attack. The key to fighting was to keep track of every single enemy's position and manipulate them into the optimal position that was most advantageous to you and disadvantageous to them.

Three steps forward, six warriors down, one step back, keep the ones behind you in line, three steps forward. It was a slow and even pace considering he had swung his rapier and dagger over two hundred times a piece since entering. With every step he took at least four warriors popped up, one from each side. He had to prioritize his attacks so he dodged the ones behind him, parried the two at his side, and killed the one in front of him, all within the span of each step he took. He remembered seeing how Setsuna had done it, wild and ferocious. She ran and yelled and fought, throwing her weapons around her by their cords several times each second. The control she showed in being able to aim her weapons at the warriors critical points while whipping them around her so fast was impossible to believe, even after seeing it. Crane had tried to imitate her but had actually been killed before he could retreat back to the starting line like he usually was able to do. His class wasn't that kind of build, it was calculating and focused. On Crane's backstep to hamper the warriors following behind him he counted over thirty, only five of which were in front trying to attack him while their fellow warriors pushed on their backs trying to get to the front. In the end, Crane's strength training gave him what he needed to defeat an earthen man his own level quickly but it was his insight and concentration stats that gave him what he needed to pass, the ability to visualize every single warrior at once. Because of this when one of the stronger warriors tried to move from the back to the front Crane would change his paths, thus changing the path of every warrior following him in a way that impeded the stronger one from getting in front. Holding the position and movement of all the warriors would not have been possible had he not trained insight and concentration.

After taking about fifteen minutes to to walk a few hundred feet Crane had finally reached the end. After taking the last step he looked back to see some eighty men were following him crumble to dust. If he had chosen a straight path the mob would have simply run him over but because he knew their position while concealing his own the best he could he was able to confuse them with a zigzag pattern.

Crane returned to the other end where Setsuna gave him a short golf clap.

The woman who had taken Crane into the training hall his first day said, "Excellent, you have passed. I'm sure I know the answer but would you like to change class to a master fighter?" 

You can change your class to secret class 'Master Fighter'  
You will be able to use special skills related to this class.  
You could raise Weapon Mastery and Vitality increases. Do you wish to change your class?

The restriction preventing him from changing classes had actually disappeared after becoming a Rune master, but up to this point he had put far too much work into it to stop now. Changing to a Master fighter would allow him to learn other weapon masteries to master but it would prevent his blacksmith a sculpture mastery from getting past intermediate level ten, something he would not allow.

"No thankyou." 

You have declined the offer to change your class.

The woman sighed and said, "Very well, here is another reward based on your performance during the trial. You may create a new skill, whatever you do next will become a usable skill."

When this happened for Setsuna, she stood still for a moment, then took off her shield and threw it spinning in the air. It became a passive skill, 'Shield spin,' that increased the speed the shield spun when thrown which in turn increased the damage it could impart. Crane thought a while and had already decided what he wanted.

Crane lifted his foot and slammed it hard on the ground. 

You have learned new Skill: Seismic Stomp.  
It is a powerful stomp that sends seismic vibrations that topple over anyone near you.  
Effect range- 6 feet  
Mana cost: 75

If Crane had this skill in there the trail would have been child's play. Now he had a way to buy time when surrounded to perform stances and spells.

Setsuna said, "Well go on then show us what you got."

Crane stomped his foot into the ground causing a crack and slight tremor than through Setsuna slightly off balance. "Nice," she said.

The instructor said, "I'm glad you were able to complete it. You should be happy to know that the teachers training your men have found them agreeable. You don't find many people willing to undergo this kind of training but you seem to have nothing but that kind. Each of them has obtained a class here suitable to their respective weapon specialties and has obtained respectable strength and skill."

After leaving Crane sent a letter to Jinir on the progress the men had made. If Jinir figured they were strong enough under Crane's command then he would likely send a letter with a quest. Setsuna promised to stay until Crane received the letter on the off chance it was a quest she could take part of.

Since he had only a few more days he checked his stats to see what he should spend his final hours training. "Show stat window."

Avatar- Crane.

Alignment- Neutral

Level 192

Class- Rune Master

Title- None

Fame- 1220 Infamy 1270

Health- 8321

Mana- 12320

Strength- 401+20

Agility- 442+20

Wisdom- 218+20

Intellect- 253+20

Vitality- 156+20

Luck- 71+20

Leadership 125+20

Finesse- XX+20

Fighting Spirit- 243+20

Perseverance 397+20

Endurance- 286+20

Resilience- 35+20

Faith 8+20

Concentration- 40+20

Insight 43+20

Affinity to Nature- 24+20

Courange 35+20

Attack- 575

Defense- 180

Magic Resistances

Fire-43%

Water-37%

Earth-35%

Black Magic-41%

Ice-39%

Wind-35%

Lightning-30%

Light-55%

+ All stats are added 20  
+ While using a sword you receive +25% bonus to Attack  
+25% Maximum Mana  
+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.  
+ Can learn skills that use the stat finesse  
+ Can learn and use rune magic.  
+ Can harness true power of runes to increase variety of effects when used.  
+ As a Rune Master, you understand that all magic originates from runes, Enables you to learn modern magic spells based on your level in Rune Mastery.

Crane's perseverance stat was almost 400, when it reached 400 he would be able to obtain the toughness stat, so he decided he would stay under the pounding waterfall until he got his reply from Jinir. 


	16. Vol2 Chapter6 The Fallen Future

Volume 2 Chapter 6  
The Fallen Future

In a tower within a castle in the capital of a certain kingdom in the west of Versailles met the eleven mystics who ruled over this domain. Each of these men shared a skill, the ability to see glimpses of the future. Alone the skill only gave vague references to effects from their cause, but when the men shared their visions, the image became clear. Like their predecessors and the ones before them, this group used their combined ability to secretly govern the futures of the kingdoms around them. Through insight into cause and effect they could see how their decisions affected the future and could choose whatever action that benefited them the most. In this way the members of this group had lived with greater luxuries than even royalty for almost a thousand years.

Once a month the men get together to share and interpret their visions. On this day however the eldest member was troubled, what he had seen over the past month was a nightmarish image over and over again. As he sat down at the table along with the others to discuss each vision they had over the past month, he could see some of the others were fidgety. It seemed he was not the only one who had seen it. As the senior member he had the duty of writing down each vision in a large tome. After taking it out and opening it to the current page, each member shared their visions over the past month.

-Rhinclast will fall  
-The demons are to blame  
-Demons rising, Rhinclast falling.  
-Before the next moon, Rhinclast will fall

It went on like that for each man. Each one had described a group of demons faced men that was somehow linked to the fall of Rhinclast. A flaw of their ability was that they could see cause, and effect, but not much between.

Rhinclast was a small kingdom, the easternmost kingdom of their domain. The royal family of Rhinclast did what the mystics told them to, and in return the mystics prevented anything that would cause the downfall of the royal family. There had been hundreds of incidents in the past thousand years where they predicted a kingdom would fall, but each time they took the necessary measures far enough in advance to prevent it. They reason this was possible was because they always saw such things months, or even years in advance. Now however they saw it would happen within a month.

The room was loud with panicking, they understood that should the kingdom fall, it would change everything they had predicted would happen afterwards. The collected visions which foretold events to about a year in the future would be rendered worthless.

The eldest mystic closed the tome loudly, silencing everyone in the room. He said, "We cannot allow this to happen. This meeting will be extended until we have with absolute certainty, prevented the fall of Rhinclast. First we must find the identity of these demons."

The men had their servants scour the city for all the information related to demons that had something to do with Rhinclast. In one hour they found it. The eldest shared the document with the rest.

Wanted: Demon Thieves  
Bounty: 2150 Gold  
Crime: Grand Theft, Murder, Evasion  
Appearance: A group of about twenty men wearing demon masks  
Most of them use different weapons, no magic users among them  
Faces unknown,  
Strength: Extreme combat coordination between them. None have been reported slain since their first appearance one month ago  
Special note: Steals highly valuable cargo en route going to or from Soles, the capital city of Rhinclast. Many of the caravans that were stolen from recently had hired a number of guards, all of which were slain  
Location last spotted: Downsure trail, after stealing a the gold tax payment of the town of Trisdon on its way to Soles.

On the wanted poster where their is usually a sketch of the criminal was a terrifying demon mask, the same one that haunted their visions.

The eldest mystic instructed the others to look through old tomes to see if anything like this had ever happened before. He had to somehow figure out the connection between Rhinclast falling and these thieves. After a few hours, they believed they had an answer. About three hundred years back there was a band of barbarians that raided up and down the kingdoms. the mystic group at the time foresaw that if they were not stopped they kingdoms being raided would fall from their control. They succeeded and after investigating it was determined that at the time, the people who had suffered loss under the raids were rebelling against their government's failure to stop the barbarians hords.

The eldest spoke, "We must under any circumstance stop these thieves." The men agreed. They each contributed to a fund which they would use to stop this future. The men divided into three groups and over the next three days discussed various ways to remove the problem and their possibility of success. In the end it was decided on that they would hire a mercenary group within Rhinclast kingdom. After the decision was made, each mystic saw the fall of the demons. It was concluded that this action had a 100% guarantee to work.

-

Varg had just gotten back from assignment. His crew had been hired by one of the local guilds to clear out a recently purchased mine of monsters. The mine was as larger than an average dungeon and had monsters between level 220 and 290. It was finished before the 2x experience had expired. Varg was one of the strongest mercenaries in the kingdom.

As he approached the counter of the client guild, the clerk said, " Ahh, Varg. Good news to report I hope."

"The place is empty and safe to work in."

The clerk smiled, "Brilliant. You finished ahead of schedule, which means more money for the guild. Here is your payment in full, I do hope to work with you again."

Quest Completed: Clear the mine  
Difficulty:C  
Reward: 1800 Gold  
You have leveled up!

Varg left without a word. A happy customer was a repeat customer, and repeat customers were the lifeblood of a successful mercenary. However as he was leaving the man at the counter said, "Wait sir, we have a letter for you."

Varg turned around, "Another request?"

"Don't know, not from us anyways."

Varg opened the letter and read its content.

-To the mercenary Varg,

On the behalf of the Kingdom of Rhinclast, our group wishes to hire your services. Stop the activities of the band of thieves who wear Demon masks. How you stop them is entirely up to you. But on the condition their activities come to a halt within ten days, you will be paid a sum of 65,000 gold.

-Sincerely, the Shinshoo group

Varg re-read the page twice. On the bottom was a genuine stamp of the Shinshoo group, the most influential group in six kingdoms. It was wasn't something that could be faked even by a master forger, but the request didn't seem to match the price. Varg brought up his contact list and clicked whisper to an acquaintance of his, an information broker named Quinn.

-Hey Quinn, you there?

-Varg, been a while. What can I do for you?

-I need information on a group of bandits in Rhinclast who wear demons masks.

-Ahh, them. Had you been around you would've heard about them, you been under a rock for the past week?

-Give me the info Quinn...

-Right, right. One moment.

Varg waited for about fifteen minutes before Quinn started up again.

-Alright, the Demon thieves, so named because of the scary masks they wear, have been wreaking havoc on the trade networks in and out of Rhinclast for about a month. They steal the best stuff, imported or exported. I've got reports of payments of gold being taken en route, some valuable gems and even garments being taken, and a long list of assorted goods of varying values and types. These guys haven't limited themselves to one market, they pretty much steal anything that someone will pay a good amount for and they are relentless. It seems that not a single incident where they have tried to steal has actually failed.

-Sounds like they are overqualified to be thieves. Anyone with a 100% success rate shouldn't be targeting anything less than the best but these guys seem to be deliberately targeting everything.

-That's right. And the people are not happy. They've tried everything, sending their stuff in secret, sending it in quantities too large to steal, and even hiding their stuff with stuff that has almost no value like flour or wheat. They even hire security guards and such to protect them on route, but those bandits succeed each time. And apparently anyone who looks at those demon masks gets a debuff, so they can't fight at full strength.

-I see, and even with such an advantage, to always be able to defeat the security guards means they must be strong.

-I'll say, you should hear the reports. I'll send you some contact info on some of the guys who fought against them.

-Sounds good, what else can you tell me about how the thefts are affecting the people.

-Well lets see...

Varg thought that there was something not right about this. Because every commodity was being robbed everyone was unhappy. But a professional thief would stick to only the most valuable of items. There was no need to anger so many, unless that was their plan in the first place. Quinn began up again.

-Yea, the people have been complaining to the government. They are convinced that the government should be able to do something about the bandits. In truth they have sent several units out there but most haven't found anything, and some haven't been seen since.

-I see. Send me anything else you can think of later, put the bill on my tab.

-Alright.

Varg went to a bar where he found an old colleague, a barbarian who Quinn said was one of the men hired to protect a supply shipment from the bandits but was slain.

"A pint for my friend here." Varg paid for some beer and passed it to the barbarian who looked down at it and said, "You don't give things for free, you're not that kind of person. What do you want?"

Varg sat right beside the large man and said, "Only everything you can tell me about those demon guys. I'll buy you all the beer you can drink until you're done sharing."

The barbarian smiled at the proposition. The longing he spoke, the more beer he got for free, and the more he talked, the more he would have to say. The man picked up the glass and drank it down in a half second flat before saying, "Three more." He was going to get as much out of Varg as he could.

"Ok, what do you want to know?"

"How did they fight, tell me everything."

In the time it took for Varg to complete his sentence the barbarians inhaled the three glasses and requested three more. "Well, the first thing is that there didn't seem to be a mage among them. They were all martial combat fighters, and used a good variety of different weapons."

Varg was almost impressed by the barbarian's ability to speak a sentence, drink a glass of beer, and start up the next sentence without any break in the conversation.

"How many were there?"

"About twenty I think." *Chug*

"Was there anything impressive about the way they fought?"

*Chug* "Oh yea, *Chug*, they fought like machines. *Chug* It was like a choreographed play." *Chug*

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they fought like a perfect team. When I smacked one of them to the ground with my war hammer, three of them rushed me and attacked me simultaneously. I ain't never seen anything like dat. My group had forty men total protecting the caravan but it wasn't enough. Two of the bandits somehow managed to hold off almost half of the guards while the others methodically took care of each guard and myself. The merchants themselves had given up without a fight after we were all killed so the bandits took the supplies and left them unharmed."

The barbarian's grammar while chugging was both good and bad, watching it was oddly disturbing considering the man could not achieve such conversation skills while drinking unless he practiced a great deal.

Varg only had two more questions. "Did the two who were taking on most of the guard seem like the leaders?"

"Don't know, they never spoke during the whole thing, never gave out orders, never shouted threats or warnings. It was eerie."

Varg nodded and asked, "What effect did looking at the masks give?"

"Hmm, lower morale and fighting spirit. Not that effective against combat classes, but mages might freeze up if they get a good look at them."

Varg got out some coins and placed them on the table saying, "Thanks for the info."

Varg paid a visit to the commodity exchange and paid them well for some info. In two days a supply of rare Orichalcum ore was going to be secretly taken out of the kingdom, hidden in a large caravan of flour. It seemed it was a part of the kingdom's own reserves, meant as payment to Windset for some of the much needed supplies the kingdom desperately needed. Varg had little doubt that the thieves would target the shipment.

Varg spent the next three hours going from guild to guild, asking for anyone who wanted an easy job, as well as from his own mercenary guild. Varg hired 200 NPCs and users from various guilds and 50 users from his own guild, men he trusted and could rely on.

It was a win win situation. His task was to stop the bandits from stealing. He guessed the reason to be the stability of the government. If the bandits showed up his 250 men would either capture or annihilate them. If they didn't show up then the orichalcum ore would make it to its destination and help stabilize the economy. Either way he knew that he was expected to succeed, regardless of what happened.

-

Rudolph was a user in a government position. Through an odd assortment of quests he had obtained a job that paid six gold coins a month as the assistant to the head of state of Rhinclast in the capital city of Soles. Basically he worked under the man who was in charge of keeping the kingdom's commerce running smoothly and his own job was to make his boss's job easier. He had chosen the class of merchant to strike it rich in one of the recently opened kingdoms of the west, but he found only misery. The kingdoms had laws that were made for the sheer purpose of ensuring that those in power stay in power and those without power never acquire it. Rudolph had hoped that he could change that and be the first of many to take advantage of the changes. It took a couple months but he succeeded in getting this far. However once he reached one of the highest points a user could reach, he realized it was a dead end. The men who had the power to change the laws were also protected by those same ancient laws. They would never change them. Rudolph would have to change them himself. Even after a month had passed, he still recalled every detail from the first time he met that kid.

It had been a long day filing civic orders and summarizing hundreds of documents down to the main points to give to his boss before the man complained that they were still too long. Of course had he left something out the head of state should know, he would receive a pay cut the following month. At the bar he frequented was a tall black haired kid he had never seen before drinking orange juice.

When Rudolph sat down, without even looking over, the kid asked, "If you could, how would you change the kingdom?"

Rudolph smiled and said, "Start from scratch. Erase all the laws and write new ones that don't restrict trade or innovation. Make a kingdom where if a guy wants to make it rich, the kingdom itself won't try to stop him." Rudolph was of course speaking about personal experience. The houses of many of the great noblemen in Toles had family businesses that each had a specialty. When Rudolph showed up he tried to sell foreign goods at a decent price. However he found out that he could only legally sell them to one store who paid less than he purchased them for. That store was owned by one of the houses of noblemen. Because of the laws each controlled supply and demand for their own product, anyone who had the same must sell it to them. And anyone caught trying to sell elsewhere was severely punished.

The kid said, "How would the kingdom be able to start from scratch?"

After pondering for a moment he answered, "You would have to replace all the men in power."

"And how would that be accomplished?"

Rudolph had thought of this conversation with a random kid and a theoretical exercise to satisfy a child's curiosity. He said, "The laws that need to be changed protect the ones who don't change them, the only way to replace them would be for the kingdom to fall to a rebellion from its own people." Then as an afterthought he said, "But that would cost tens of thousands of gold."

The kid said nothing and left. Rudolph wondered who he was but thought that in the end it didn't matter. That was until the next day when the kid showed up in front of him with a sack of 20,000 gold and said, "What next?"

After that it got serious, the kid said that if a man who could replace the king swore his loyalty to the kid's patron, the patron would pay for the uprising. Rudolph introduced the kid to the a nobleman named Dorruk. He was apart of a branch family who did not receive anything from the business of the main family and due to the laws in place, he basically had no future. He was not a good man but he wasn't bad either. The kid discussed in private with him and after returning said Dorruk was acceptable. Afterwards Rudolph and the kid made their plans to drop the kingdom to its knees before taking off its head. First Rudolph gave the kid all the information he could on various trade routes and dates and times of departures of various goods. Because of Rudolph's position he was able to obtain the information easily. Less than a week after the 'Demon Bandits' started raiding up everything of value, Rudolph's boss was tasked with solving the bandit problem. He requested knights and troops of various strengths to scour the kingdom till the bandits were found. But because Rudolph had been leaking all of their movements, the kid only encountered the ones he could deal with. Because most of the citizens worked in some way for one of the great house's family businesses, with each theft the businesses suffered. However the greedy noblemen were unwilling to part with their fortunes to pay the workers of the stores no money had been made from due to the robbery so they simply fired their worker and made the ones they didn't fire work harder for reduced pay. Needless to say the city was outraged. Jobless men and women who had families to feed would go hungry. However that is when Dorruk stepped in to save the day. Most of the money obtained from the thefts had gone to Dorruk to buy food and supplies for the angry masses. Massive groups were organized in secret by Dorruk who told all the people it was their government's fault they had to rely on the kindness of another, it was the government's fault that all of this was happening.

Somehow the kid had obtained hundreds of weapons and given them to Dorruk to spread to the masses. Because he had not bought them from any smith in the kingdom, there were no signs that a secret army was gathering right beneath the government's nose. Rudolph suspected that most of the weapons and armors given were from pursuers the kid had slain but the drop rate for such items was low at best. He still partially wondered how someone could get so many weapons at once.

Back to the present, Rudolph was preparing for the end game. However he was never told what to do on his own. In fact he was specifically told that should the kid's bandits be defeated, he should pretend he never met the kid and forget about everything. The kid was very serious about that point and made him swear it. He still didn't understand why.

-

Varg sat on a horse outside the Soles city limits with 250 men. Coming his way was a caravan of twenty one carts carrying flour, and secretly carrying orichalcum ore from the treasury of Soles. The young merchant in the driver's seat stopped the wagon and said, "Please be on your way sir."

Varg walked up to the side of the wagon and said, "My name is Varg. I am a mercenary here to ensure your caravan gets to Windset safely."

The merchant looked as uneasy as one can when 250 armed men stand in front of you and said, "That won't be necessary sir. I have already paid a group of warriors to guard my wagons. I fact they are the ones who are now driving the carts."

Varg look back and counted. twenty-one carts, twenty guards, the same number as the members seen in the demon thieves. Varg noticed that many of the drivers seemed uneasy at the prospect of being escorted by 250 armed men. Though that nervousness could have just as easily come from the fact that they were currently surrounded.

Varg continued. "This is not a request. I was hired to ensure this caravan gets to its destination. I have been promised payment from another party, you don't have to pay anything."

The merchant seemed to be considering this before Varg stepped in closer and said, "Your cargo is the likely target of the demon thieves." The merchant froze up for a second before Varg continued, "I was hired to take care of them. If we encounter them we will deal with them, if they don't come then your delivery will be successful."

After a moment the merchant relented. He whispered, "Very well. And to think I went through such measures as disguising guards as drivers so as not to draw attention to myself. But I guess if you found out about my cargo then it is likely the demon thieves know as well."  
The merchant started up in a louder voice, "You can come, but you will have to feed yourselves. I will not allow one speck of flour to taken during the trip. You have enough provisions for two weeks?"

Varg nodded, "The window the thieves attack is within three days after departure. We will of course escort you to the border of the kingdom, and have enough supplies to last us the week it will take to get there."

"I see. Well, then, lets go."

Varg's horse kept the slow pace alongside the lead cart, there were a few things he wanted to ask the merchant about the guards he had hired. He silently sent whispers to his lieutenants to keep a close eye on them.

Varg made various small talk with the merchant. The man had never been robbed by the demon thieves before but was familiar with one of the noblemen houses of Soles. These combined were the likely reasons he was put in charge of carrying the orichalcum.

After a few hours Varg asked, "So where did you hire those guards?"

The merchant said, "Ah, yes, well. They came with one another. I was looking to hire some guards who wouldn't mind driving the carts. That way I could go 'incognito' without anyone looking twice at my caravan. I always figured that those bandits sized up merchandise by how many people were guarding it, so if I was transporting flour with no guards, they wouldn't notice me."

Varg smiled for a moment before saying, "But those bandits were stealing precious objects and valuables before people began hiring guards."

The merchant widened his eyes for a moment at the realization of the flaw in his logic and remained silent for a while.

Varg considered what the merchant said, that the entire group had been hired at once, that they all already knew how to drive a wagon, and that they seemed to have no problem with driving a wagon for two weeks to, then from a location, a whole month. Nothing about it added up unless they were in fact the masked bandits. Varg partially understood why the merchant didn't suspect a thing. Not one of the guards had a murderer's mark, the tell tale red diamond on their forehead or their name highlighted in red above their heads. That didn't however mean much to Varg. It was possible that the masks they wore had some ability to shield them from the murderer's mark if they killed while it was worn. Perhaps they simply fought a great deal of monsters before coming here, that too would erase the mark. Of course they also could have simply donated to the church and been relieved of their sins by the clergymen. It wasn't cheap, but it was a fast reliable method for a murderer to appear safe.

Varg decided to tell the merchant his worries. The young man's first reaction was, "Well to put it bluntly, how do I know you are not thieves here to kill me and take the ore? Nothing you have told me is something exclusive to them, even if you aren't the demon bandits, you could still be thieves."

Varg reflected on the idea, it was true that from his perspective the merchant would see Varg's group far more threatening. Varg took out the letter from the Shinshoo group and showed it to the merchant. After allowing him to read it over he said, "I am being paid enough to keep me on task. I have never failed in my assignment. Even if I have to die you will get your cargo to Windset and I will stop the demon thieves."

The merchant however was still looking at the letter. A small smile appeared on his face before disappearing so fast Varg wasn't sure he saw it at all. The merchant said in an amazed voice, "65 thousand gold? That's incredible! Ok, I believe you. So, what do you want to do? The orichalcum ore is stored beneath the flour of each wagon in a strong box bolted to the wagon itself."

Varg considered this, his first priority was to get the bandits but to fulfill the spirit of his assignment if not the letter his second priority was to get the ore to Windset. If all the ore was in one wagon he could send it ahead with some of his men and used the rest would surround and capture the bandits, but that wasn't an option. Varg said, "We need to capture them in a place they have no way to escape."

The merchant looked ecstatic, "I know! There is a trail a few hours from here that leads into a canyon that is a complete dead end. I'm the only one here who knows the trail, the others won't suspect a thing even if we change our route."

Varg smiled, "Perfect."

Two hours later the caravan was lead into a narrow canyon with no way to climb up the sides. After fifteen minutes through it they arrived at a dead end too steep to climb up. By then his men had armed themselves. Varg took out his sword and said, "Drivers, give yourself up or you will be killed." By the end of his sentence each had at least three swords pointed at them. A few minutes later they were all tied up and Varg was speaking.

"Am I right to say you are the demon thieves?"

One of the younger looking captives spoke up saying, "You got the wrong guys pal."

Varg thought this would make things easier, the one who spoke up was the one the merchant identified as the only one he hired and who the rest came with. This was the most likely candidate for leader. Varg said, "So you're not the demon thieves then?"

The captive said, "Hell no, why you be tying us up without cause man?"

So it wasn't going to be so easy after all. Varg drew his sword and put it up to the kid's throat and said, "The demon thieves have 20 members, you came with twenty members, you think such a coincidence would be overlooked?"

The captive looked appalled by the logic, he said, "Hey man, we didn't choose the number, that merchant did. I was da last person in line for this job so I got hired, but the guy behind me wasn't."

Varg said, "Excuse me? Tell me in full how you were hired."

"Hey man, that merchant called out at the bar I hang out and said he was hiring 20 dudes who could drives a wagon for 1 week. He paid 2 gold when we signed up."

Nothing the kid was saying matched the merchant's testimony, so one of them was lying. Before he was certain it was the kid, but his manner of speaking made him think perhaps he wasn't bright enough to fit the description of the demon thieves. If he wasn't lying, then the merchant was.

Varg quickly looked around, the merchant was gone. Varg ran to the closest wagon and started throwing out the sacks of flour. After a few minutes with his men staring at him he nearly emptied the wagon. Nothing was underneath, no strong box, no orichalcum. However on the side of the wagon previously hidden from view by the bags of flour was a piece of paper stuck to the wagon's interior. It was difficult to see at first because it was coated in a light layer of flour but now Varg could clearly see a rectangular strip of paper with a symbol on it that looked similar to the english letter F. Varg inspected the rest of the wagon to find that there were in fact, six such papers inside it. Suddenly a loud sound came from overhead. The sound of rocks breaking. One such rock broke off and fell onto a pair of men, crushing them.

Someone yelled, "Avalanche!" Then another yelled, "Hide under the wagons!"

The men rushing under the closest wagon was like a scene of musical chairs. The space under the wagons could not fit everyone. A moment after everyone started gathering around the wagons another rock fell right onto a wagon. However against everyone's expectations, the wagon immediately exploded in an enormous fire ball. An instant later the wagons on each side of the explosion exploded as well in a beyond deafening KABOOM! Like a domino effect the explosions spread one by one to all twenty one carts in less than four seconds. The fire from the explosions completely filled the canyons scorching everyone inside .The flour in the air burned everything like a dust explosion. The flour fueled inferno lasted about six seconds. When it had settles, all but the strongest were dead. However they died a moment later when the rocks the explosion broke off the canyon wall crushed everything.

-

Setsuna watched the blaze from a distance and knew to wait until the tremors had stopped before approaching. Crane had sent his men on another assignment, she only came to watch his plan unfold. When everyone was distracted by the apprehension of the drivers Crane hired, Setsuna lowered a rope from the top of the canyon and pulled Crane up. After that Crane waited for the mercenary to figure it out before he used Seismic stomp to cause some of the rocks to fall. Once a rock hit his wagon bombs the fire that shot out of the crevice looked like an erupting volcano. Setsuna told this to Crane but he assured her an erupting volcano looked very different.

The pair slid down the rocky cliff face to the bottom. It was too steep to climb up but not down. Their intent was to look for and finish off survivors but the rock covered everything so there wasn't much to see besides crushed armor, broken burnt wood, and rocks, lots of rocks.

Setsuna asked, "You think this might have been a little excessive?"

Crane answered, "Absolutely. Before now I wasn't allowed to do this kind of thing, I guess I was making up for lost time."

"And why weren't you allowed again?"

Crane pulled out a shrunken head and threw it to Setsuna who caught it on instinct before realizing what it was. She wasn't squeamish so she didn't think it was too bad, until it said, "Hello there."

She almost dropped it before catching it at the last second. She called out to Crane, "Why do you have a talking shrunken head?"

While digging through more rubble he answered, "Its a radio. The guy on the other end gave it to me. He sees you talking through the matching shrunken head."

Setsuna's first thought was why someone would have a shrunken head radio. She held it up again and said, "Hello."

"Hello again. I heard what you asked Crane. I am the one who told him to to use skills like this before now."

Setsuna asked, "Why not? It's effectiveness is pretty apparent."

"Yes, but against the Shinshoo group, you must not use your best hand until it is ready."

"The shinshoo group?"

"Yes, yes. Some time back me and some buddies raided west but good. It was a blast. We were unstoppable. But then that dam shinshoo group stopped us. I Only figured out later it was because they could see into the future. They could predict our moves and strategies. When Crane told me he was going to change the west, I told him about the shinshoo, and about the only way to fight them."

"Which is?"

"Originality at the right moment. The only time we were able to fight back was when we came up with a completely original idea we had never tried. When we did that it was like those guys couldn't see it, they saw something else."

Crane walked over and continued where he left off. "Even in a video game you can't predict the future due to free will. I'm guessing the foresight ability comes from some prediction calculation engine. Like something that takes all past experiences and tallies up the possible outcomes. But if it makes predictions based on the past, then something original would be outside its calculation parameters. Because of that I had to seal some of my abilities until the time was right."

It was a bit complex, but Setsuna understood what he meant. To fight against fate itself, he had to play dirty.

The pair rode horses Setsuna had brought to the canyon the day before back to Soles. It was there that Crane's men were training the rebel army that was gathering.

-

The mystics of the Shinshoo group called an emergency meeting. Up to the point where it actually happened, each man had seen the demon group being defeated and captured. After that they saw that the kingdom was safe. But after the mercenary group failed each man saw the kingdom's imminent fall.

Upon arrival the group split into three groups and made predictions for each plan of action they thought was possible. But the image they came to was not clear.

-If the kingdom sends its strongest knights to deal with the bandits, the kingdom will fall.  
-If the kingdom does nothing, it will fall.  
-If another country sends aid, Rhinclast will fall.

No matter what was done, they could only see the fall of the kingdom. They didn't know what to do. In cases where they couldn't prevent an outcome like a specific law being passed they would assemble a team of bureaucrats they knew would be able to repel as soon as possible.

But this time was different. The future they saw seemed to stop at the fall of Rhineclast. Like the future after that had yet to be written. The group spent the next several days trying in vain to find a way to stop the future.

-

Rudolph was at the palace. The head of state seemed furious. Rudolph wasn't aware of this but his boss had received orders to stop the bandits, but not deploy the knight, or military. Rudolph handed him another summary of claims reports detailing losses of the noblemen family businesses. As soon as his boss opened it up he threw the report against the far wall. Of course the head of state had no way to know that at least three-fourths of the reports were false. Employees who had been forced to work more for less pay had been stealing from their own stores and blaming it on the Demon thieves. A reputation of steals everything, combined with never fails made for an excellent excuse to make money at the expense of the noblemen houses. Or course this had been the intention to begin with, to rot the economy from the inside, making victims into accomplices.

Rudolph's boss said, "This is unacceptable, can't these lazy fools do anything themselves?! Must I be expected to do everything for them?! Yet I can't even use my own resources!"

Rudolph causally commented, "What do you need sir?"

After a snort he said, "I need those crow begotten thieves disemboweled!"

Rudolph nodded and said, "Then send the kingdom's army, its not like they are needed here."

The man practically growled, "I was advised that is not a wise decision..."

"If I may sir, I received reports that seem to indicate where the thieve's permanent base of operation is."

"You, What?!"

"It is in this folder sir." Rudolph walked up to his boss's table and pulled out one of the folder's in the stack and casually handed it to the man who almost ripped it out of his hand.

The folder contained reports that stated the frequency of robberies was higher around a certain area, and that scouts who were sent to that area recently returned with reports that a camp has been set up. The report was of course a complete fabrication the kid handed to Rudolph to gie to his boss today.

Rudolph waited until he saw his boss's eyes reach the bottom before he said, "Whoever said sending out the army may not have known about these most recent reports."

After a silent moment the man said, "Indeed."

A few minutes later orders were drafted up and given to Rudolph to give to the army. It was a full deployment, the 31,000 soldiers of the castle were to go to the camp and kill the thieves.

It was then that the Kid gave the signal. Along with the false document the kid had given Rudolph, he had also given him three boxes to sneak into the castle. After the signal he was to open them. The first had a map of the castle, Rudolph had given it to the kid who had marked over 200 locations on the map with precise detail. Under the map were stacks of paper with a symbol on it with instruction on what they were and how to use them.

Rudolph spent the night doing as the instructions clarified. He placed the notes onto specific points on interior and exterior walls in a specific alignment. The notes would turn into a large fireball after going off but wouldn't go off unless disturbed. Placing them on walls was safe unless someone slammed into them so most were set on walls or wooden cross beams. After three hours he placed most of them, now he placed the triggers. By placing them on the ground, anyone stepping on them would be engulfed in flames. By placing them across a door and door frame, anyone opening the door would be engulfed in flames. And of course if anyone engulfed in flames approached another one of the flame tags, they would be set off, like dominos.

After placing the last one Rudolph hurried along the only safe path through the castle to the entrance. At the entrance were around six hundred armed men standing by, each wearing the mask of a demon. Apparently Dorruk had also been given the signal, and now Rudolph knew what was going to happen. He yelled out to the crowd before him.

"Everyone in this castle has failed you. And now they will pay with their lives. This castle will be set ablaze, and everyone who doesn't wish to die will run through here where you will meet them. it it then you will be able to thank them for all they have done for you!" Rudolph raised the dagger at his side to make his point clear.

At this the men started yelling excitedly beneath their masks. This seemed to wake up many because the next thing Rudolph heard was a series of explosions. Someone had set off a trigger and now they would either be on fire or baking. Rudolph stood back so he could see the blaze.

Castles don't catch on fire easily, and more specifically stone doesn't catch on fire. However smoke does rise. Rudolph had already closed windows according to the instructions given by the kid. The smoke would purge every room of the castle's upper levels while fire would torch every one of the lower floors. Because of the massive weight the castle had to hold the lower levels had more wooden support beams that were added later. After they all burned out it was likely that the castle itself would completely collapse.

A few minutes after the first explosion men wearing pajamas ran out of the castle only to be slain by armed rebels. Even women were slain, it wasn't a pretty sight, it was mob mentality combined with the anonymity provided by the masks hiding their deeds. Several times groups came out escorted by guards who tried to protect them but there were skilled fighters amongst the masked rebels who easily took out the guards before they could do anything. It was overall a one sided massacre.

Loud rumblings shook the ground, Rudolph yelled at the top of his voice, "THE CASTLE"S COMING DOWN!"

The men heard him well enough and ran away before the whole thing collapsed beneath its own weight.

-

In the morning after the rebellion Setsuna was buying goods from one of the newly opened markets. Several NPCs had been hoarding goods, likely stolen from the store they worked at, to sell after the plan went through. It was more expensive than an average store but still cheaper than the previous stores had the priced. Setsuna and some of Crane's armed men went to the homes of each noblemen house with a copy of the new constitution. Setsuna made it clear each family had three options, sign the document agreeing to all terms, leave Rhinclast, or be executed for crimes against the people. Some actually took the option to leave, the rest signed the document. Afterwards she met Crane and the merchant Rudolph who had been speaking to the army that had just returned from their wild goose chase. It seemed to her that the whole lot was more relieved then angry about the whole thing. They appreciated that the plan to destroy the castle was held off until they weren't in it. Later it seemed that Rudolph was assigned as the head of state. With his help Dorruk was able to get the government back up again in under a week.

That was when everything changed, Crane never told Setsuna was all of this was for. He had of course told her this was a job requested by the king of Donriel kingdom, the land three kingdoms over in the west. But he never told her why the king requested it, answering it each time she asked, "You'll find out soon." After the news had been sent to Donriel that the kingdom of Rhinclast was back up and that Dorruk was completely loyal to him, every user in Royal Road received a message.

Declaration of War  
Herios Goldking VI, ruler of the Kingdom of Donriel, has declared war against the Kingdoms of Palmer, Koler, Omis, Ler'kal, and Thyest.

Over the past centuries these kingdoms have repressed their people to keep the old families in power. The newly appointed King of Donriel seeks to change the western fronteir of Versailles.

The Goal is to overthrow the kings within each kingdom.

As of this moment, all achievements, weapons, armors, and the prices of all basic necessities, will be frozen at the current place/price in all towns belonging to any of the participating kingdoms.

User who participates in quests related to the war will acquire an increase of 20% of the Experience points upon completion, as well as a 20% increase in Experience points for defeating those aligned against you.

Crane had been standing beside her when the message arrived. He calmly said, "This is where the fun begins."


End file.
